


Promise

by Emybulby



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, First minsung fic, Gay, Idols, Jisung's father is an asshole, Love, Love is beautiful, M/M, Physical Abuse, don't hate me, kpop, might have multiple endings, minsung - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-02-23 12:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23711269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emybulby/pseuds/Emybulby
Summary: Snippet :“Let’s promise each other something,” Jisung offered.“What crazy idea do you have in mind?” Minho asked, unsure.“Let’s promise to always be there for each other, ok?”Minho suddenly sat up and stared right at Jisung who looked scared for a moment. Was it too cringy? Was he going to get hit? But then, Minho turned away.“Alright… I promise to always be there for you,” Minho mumbled.ORHan has a lot of pressure on his shoulders and Minho tries to help him let go of that weight.Note: Soft and angsty at first, but then it's going to become super angsty as the fic goes on. :)TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 61
Kudos: 94





	1. Always

**Author's Note:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Here is my first Minsung fic :) I hope you'll like it! Also, the first chapter is really big, but the upcoming chapters will be shorter, so don't be surprised. I made the choice to start with a big chapter because I think it's the best way to really set the base for the rest of the fic <3
> 
> Anyway, read well and please leave a comment :D
> 
> IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL NOTE:  
> I don't want to romanticize abuse or anything like that. I just think that love (romantic and platonic) can do a lot to help people get through some difficult things. 
> 
> WARNING: This fic is about abuse, don't read if you're uncomfortable. There might be some descriptive content. 
> 
> No hate please. I just think Minsung have a great chemistry together and would make a lovely couple. <3

“I’m not late!” Jisung exclaimed as he rushed in the practice room, where the others were already practicing one of their choreographies.

“Yes, you definitely are,” Seungmin retorted as they all stopped practicing, distracted by Jisung’s loud arrival.

“Ok, like less than 10 minutes late, it’s not that bad,” he countered.

“Still late though,” Hyunjin commented, clearly annoyed. Jisung winced at his unimpressed expression.

“Even Changbin was on time today,” Minho commented, and Changbin waved at him from behind Minho with an annoying smile. “Would have been nice if you were too.”

“You wanted to see me sooner, admit it?” Jisung winked at Minho who just ignored him.

“Come on, get ready, we can’t be losing any more time,” Chan told him.

They all got back to their position while Jisung quickly put his school bag and jacket away, getting ready as fast as possible. They practiced the choreography from the start and then continued adding to it. They were still working on it, and they were allowed only an hour and a half for the room every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so they were trying to complete it as soon as possible. If they were free during lunchtime, they practiced in an unoccupied classroom, pushing the desks up to the walls. There was a big competition coming and they really wanted to give it their all, especially since it was Chan’s last high school year.

After thirty minutes of practicing, they finally stopped.

“Alright, we’re progressing well with the choreo. Let’s practice the song now,” Chan decided. Instead of doing a cover, they had decided to perform their own composition, a song called Hellevator.

Even if it required a lot of time and energy, the time he spent with his friends was always his favourite. He cherished it deeply.

They all sat down in a circle and started practicing the song. They would integrate it with the dance when they became more confident with the two. Everyone did their part, some commenting and helping where there was something lacking or place for amelioration.

“You’re really doing well on that high note, Jisung,” Chan complimented him with a proud smile.

“Thanks!” He smiled brightly at that. He had practiced a lot, even arrived earlier at school so he could really master it in time for the competition. He knew it wasn’t exactly stable yet, but it was getting there.

They kept going until it finally came time to leave. They stopped by the convenience store and grabbed something cold to drink for everyone before continuing on their way. It was like a routine, and Jisung always took coffee milk. It was his favourite. He had also noticed that Minho tended to buy strawberry milk.

Jisung was the one living farther away from the school and the sport center where they practiced.

Soon enough, he was left alone with Minho, the last one he always said goodbye to before walking alone the rest of the way until he arrived home.

Jisung was talking about anything and everything, just trying to fill the silence, especially since Minho seemed a bit down.

“And then, she slapped him! Right on the cheek! You should have seen it, poor boy. His cheek was as red as a tomato!”

“You’re talking nonsense, no way Jisoo did that,” Minho doubted him with a scoff.

“She’s way more violent than what she looks like!” Jisung added. “I wouldn’t make trouble for her, that’s for sure!”

“You make trouble for everyone,” Minho replied, with a light smile, and that smile felt like it was a small victory for Jisung. 

He just wanted to lift Minho’s mood, so he was telling him some story that had happened in the past between two classmates. Honestly, things didn’t quite go the way he had told him, but it wasn’t such a big deal.

To keep up the act, Jisung gasped, looking offended by Minho’s reply.

“What? How dare you say that?! I’m hurt, you know.”

“Awww, poor Jisungie,” Minho’s smile became a little wider.

“My poor heart!” Jisung dramatically collapsed on his knees on the sidewalk.

Minho sighed and walked back up to him. “Come on, you’re even more dramatic than Hyunjin right now,” he told him taking his arms and trying to help him stand back up.

Jisung didn’t have it, he tugged on his arms and forced him to fall in the grass beside the sidewalk with him.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” Minho laughed, and Jisung’s laugh echoed seconds later as Minho started playing with him.

They wrestled on the ground a bit, until Minho finally won over Jisung and pinned him down.

“Ah, I give up!” Jisung declared laughing as Minho took his time to annoy him a bit.

Minho was smiling and giggling too, and it all came to a stop as they both calmed down. They looked at each other for a moment, before Minho’s smile died down a bit and he let himself fall in the grass beside Jisung. They stayed there for a moment, enjoying the beautiful sky above, lighted by the last colourful rays of the setting sun.

“Let’s promise each other something,” Jisung offered suddenly.

“What crazy idea do you have in mind?” Minho asked, unsure.

“Let’s promise to always be there for each other, ok?”

Minho suddenly sat up and stared right at Jisung who looked scared for a moment. Was it too cringy? Was he going to get hit? But then, Minho turned away.

“Alright… I promise to always be there for you,” Minho mumbled, as if too embarrassed to say it clearly, and even if Jisung couldn’t see his expression he could hear the light smile in his voice and it made him happy.

“Yeah!” Jisung exclaimed happily, jumping on Minho’s back to hug him. “I promise too!”

And just like that, Jisung stood back up and offered his hand to Minho so they could get back on their way home. When they separated a few minutes later, Jisung still felt incredibly happy.

Jisung had never made such a promise with a friend, and he felt like he needed some security. Something deep inside him was telling him that Minho would never break the promise they had just made with each other. 

Thinking about it, since the moment they had met, he had always been pretty close with Minho, as if there was something magnetic between them. And Jisung couldn’t deny that the thought of having him by his side for the rest of his life felt like a blessing to him.

This deep happiness he felt as he walked back home didn’t last long though…

-

_Slap!_

Jisung didn’t move, he wasn’t even shocked. His father was this kind of man, strict and heavy-handed. When he had received the result of his last math pretest, he had known right away that his father would be angry. 89% was way too low.

“You’re lucky this doesn’t count,” his father growled taking the pretest paper and shaking it roughly in front of Jisung’s face.

“I’ll do better in the real test,” Jisung replied, keeping his head down and trying to calm his father a bit.

His father scoffed in annoyance and then took Jisung’s wrist and lifted up as if to look at him better.

“You’re disgusting, you shameless brat, walking around in such a dirty uniform. How dare you go out looking like this? You really want to humiliate me? Is that it?”

_Slap!_

Jisung hardly held back his tears and kept his head low. He should have been more careful when he had wrestled in the grass with Minho earlier. Or at least, he should have tried to clean himself up a bit before entering. He had been too caught up in his thoughts about the promise he had made with Minho. That was really stupid of him…

“Go away. I don’t want to see you anymore,” his father finally let him leave as he poured alcohol into a glass.

He was drinking a lot more lately, and when his father drank, it was always worse, so Jisung didn’t hesitate before leaving his father’s office and going to his room. Once in his room, he closed the door silently and let himself fall on his bed like a broken doll, still trying hard to contain the tears that threatened to pour out of his eyes.

It hadn’t been as bad as he thought it would be, so he was kind of glad, but he still really hated it. He was already trying his best, at school and with the after-class extra classes and his Performing club. He really was… It wasn’t enough. He’d have to do more. He looked at his alarm for the next day. He usually studied until 12 am, so if he woke up at 5 instead of 6, maybe he’d have time to study a bit more and still have time to practice his vocals too. One more hour per day of studying would definitely lead to improvement!

He sighed as he set his alarm and stood back up. He quickly got to work. It would be ok, he could do it…

Two hours in, he took a break and used this time to shower and get ready for sleep even if he would still be studying for a few more hours. When he got back to his desk, he saw that he had received a text message from Minho.

**Minho: You didn’t die on the way home, did you?**

Jisung smiled at that and answered right away.

**Jisung: No, I’ll still be annoying you tomorrow too.**

**Minho:** **😑**

Jisung put his phone away, feeling a little better thanks to Minho. Another three hours of intense studying to go through.

-

Waking up at 5 was the worst. He already hated waking up at 6, how could he think he would be fine waking up an hour earlier.

He zombied out of the room. It was still dark outside.

**SKZ Group Chat:**

**Squirrel: Don’t wait for me** **😊** **Already at school!**

Jisung went to his assigned classroom and started studying. Gosh, it was hard to focus on anything when he was still barely awake. Maybe he should go to bed at 1am instead? He could try it out, see if it was better.

He kept repeating to himself to stay awake and keep studying like some mantra, but it was still awful. And then, just to make everything worse the group chat started being active.

**SKZ Group Chat:**

**Crispy: What are you doing at school at this hour? Sleep is important, you know!**

**Baby Changbin: Says the guy who doesn’t even know what sleep is…** **😏**

 **Crispy: Don’t know what you’re talking about** **🤔**

**Lama Hyunjin: Oh! Changbin woke up early!**

**Dandy Boy: Still going to be late though**

**Baby Changbin: Not even gonna fight you on that, it’s probably in my genetic**

**Maknae: I don’t think your mother would agree on that** **😅**

**Baby Changbin: Jeonginnie, you know I love you, but you better not tell her!**

**Maknae: I’m scared! Protect me!**

Jisung smiled, amused by their chaotic conversation, but he didn’t reply to the messages, trying to get his concentration back to his studies.

“What the hell are you doing alone at school at this hour?” Minho suddenly shouted as he entered the classroom, startling Jisung and causing him to let out a scream.

“What the hell? Don’t you dare scare me like that again!” Jisung scolded him, a hand on his erratic heart. “I almost had a heart attack. I want to die old, you know!”

Minho rolled his eyes and entered the classroom properly. Now, that Jisung had recovered from this shocker, he noticed that Minho looked as if he was trying to calm his breathing and his forehead was also sweaty.

“Did you run to school? Gosh, you look terrible,” Jisung commented.

“I didn’t run…” Minho lied, clearly, and sat at his place right in front of Jisung. “Are you really studying?”

“I try… I got a bad score at the last math pretest, so I really have to do better for the upcoming test or my father will beat me up,” he joked... At least it was intended as a joke.

“Do you want me to help?” Minho asked.

“You’re good at math?” Jisung asked, surprised. “What score did you get at the pretest?”

“Well, I’m not bad. I got 87.”

87… For him it was good… Jisung didn’t want Minho to know about his situation with his father, it might worry him, so he faked being amazed by his score. 

There were many things he hid from his friends. Like the fact that his father was wealthy and that he took extra-classes after school. He didn’t want to be seen by them like one of those rich kids doing whatever they could to ensure their family’s wealthy legacy, even if it meant betraying friends and playing dirty with everyone. They weren’t all like that, he knew it, he was the proof himself, but in high school people were separated by stupid prejudices and cliques. Everyone was easily judging others and he couldn’t be completely sure how his friends would react to him telling them everything. Maybe they would be ok with it and nothing would change, but there was also the possibility that they would try to take advantage of his financial situation or reject him altogether, not wanting to hang out with a rich haughty brat. Maybe they’d feel betrayed to find out everything too.

It was just easier to hide everything from them. On days he practiced with his friends, they all went to eat together after school before they had access to the practice room at 5h30, but Jisung never went with them. Instead, he told them he had to eat with his father, as if it was an important routine thing. But really, he stayed at school and participated in the extra-classes that ended at 5h15. Then, he ate quickly as he rushed to the practice room, and even if he really did his best everyday to get there in time, he was always late.

At least, Tuesdays and Thursdays were easier to deal with, since he only had private lessons at home with a University teacher his father had hired. He hated those lessons. Professor Byeon was a terrifying man and his father had allowed him to use any method to get the results he wanted out of Jisung. Just thinking about it made Jisung shiver. The man had a baton he liked to use way too frequently. Jisung could still feel last Thursday’s lesson on his back and upper arms.

Generally, he had a packed performance-focused schedule, but he had no other choice, or else he would have to let go of the one activity that truly made him happy. He was already very lucky he had been able to hide the fact that he was in the Perfoming club from his father. He hoped that if they finally got recognized in the next competition, he could use it as an argument against his father. Winning club competitions was a great addition to a student’s curriculum! 

“Jisung? Are you listening to me?” Minho asked.

“Ah, sorry, I was daydreaming,” he answered simply.

“Are you ok?” Minho inquired seriously.

“Yeah, of course! I’m just a bit tired, that’s all!” He answered with a big confident smile, and went back to studying.

He was taken aback though when he felt fingers brush against his cheek, Minho looking at it, frowning.

“Why is your cheek red? Did you walk into a glass door again?”

Jisung jumped up the next second, covering his cheek with his hand, both embarrassed by Minho’s attention and anxious that he would think something else.

“Yeah, glass doors are my nemesis,” he stuttered. “I need to go to the washroom, check my stuff, ok?”

Jisung quickly took his phone and rushed to the closest washroom. He walked up to the mirror and looked at himself. He looked at his cheek, but even he could barely notice the lightly redder tint it had compared to the other. How could Minho notice so easily? There was no way the others would notice it too, right?

Still, thinking about Minho’s fingers brushing his cheek made him feel weird.

Was it happiness? Or anxiousness?

He splashed water over his face and wiped it, then took a few deep breaths before going back to the classroom.

Well, at least he was very well awake now.


	2. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE: So, basically, to make things easier for the sake of the story, Chan is a year older than the others, and Jeongin is a year younger. I really wanted to do things according to their real age-gap, but it made things too complicated for me. I hope it won't annoy you too much! <3
> 
> Now, this story might be predictable, but I hope you'll like it anyways! I'll try to get creative despite everything ^.^
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! <3
> 
> Thanks!!

The next day was even more awful. His lesson with Professor Byeon the night before had been terrible. Jisung had been too exhausted to concentrate properly. Answering Professor Byeon’s questions had been harder than usual and he had paid the price for it.

He felt it even more during their physical education class. Playing basketball with bruised back and upper arms, sure, good idea, but it wasn’t like he could really do anything about it. He still played as usual, and when he connected with others or stretched for a shot, he made sure to hide his wince as best as he could. At least, he had been wise enough to put a long-sleeved undergarment so the bruises wouldn't show.

He was so glad when the class finally ended and they all went back to the changing room. Jisung quickly took a shower, but changed awkwardly in the tight space the shower allowed.

“Why do you change in the shower?” Hyunjin asked as Jisung joined them again. “It’s so cramped in there, don’t know how you do that.”

“I’ll have you know that it actually saves time,” He replied with his seller persona, and everyone laughed as he started explaining how to do it properly.

They exited the changing room after that, all still amused by Jisung’s antics. While they were on their way back to their lockers, Jisung and Minho at the back of their group of friends, Minho suddenly poked Jisung’s back, causing him to let out a little cry, and everyone turned to look at them, startled and curious.

“He pinched me!” Jisung lied.

“No, I didn’t,” Minho replied, frowning.

“Now, you’re playing innocent?” Jisung accused with an angry pout.

The others went back to their original conversation, scoffing. It wasn’t unusual to see them tease and annoy each other. When Jisung was sure no one was listening to them anymore, he looked back at Minho, ready to talk about it quickly, but Minho beat him to it.

“If you’re hurt, you should tell us,” Minho told him seriously. “What happened?”

“I fell down the stairs,” he lied. “Please… don’t tell the others.”

“Why?”

“Because… It’s already humiliating enough as it is!”

“We’ve seen you do much more humiliating things than falling down the stairs. Actually, we saw that too,” Minho said.

Jisung didn’t hide his annoyed look at Minho’s words.

“Just don’t tell them, that’s all,” Jisung sighed. "Please?"

Minho didn’t answer anything and remained poker-faced for a long moment as if evaluating if he should do as Jisung asked, looking deep into Jisung’s eyes. And then an unimpressed smile appeared on his lips and Minho flicked his finger on Jisung’s forehead.

“You clutch… Try to be more careful,” he told him.

Jisung complained loudly. But still, he started worrying. Minho had noticed again. It bothered him a lot, because he cared a lot about Minho and didn’t want to have to push him away if he became too curious. He had been hiding things from his friends for a year just fine. Jisung didn’t want things to get complicated.

At least, right now Minho didn’t seem too nosy, so maybe he actually believed him.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, except for the fact that Jisung almost fell asleep repetitively in class. Reducing his sleeping hours might not be the best idea. Maybe he just needed a little time for his body to get used to it. He was glad when the last period ended, but remembered with annoyance that he still had the Study club to attend before he could finally enjoy some more time with his friends.

“Are you still walking back home to eat with your father?” Felix asked as he stopped by Jisung’s desk.

“Yup!” Jisung answered.

“Alright, we’ll go with you,” Minho told him.

“Uh? Why?”

“I forgot to do my chores yesterday and my mom was pretty angry about it, so I have to go home to do them before practice,” Felix complained.

“And my aunt was passing by the neighborhood, so she’s gonna have dinner with us.”

Jisung barely listened to their explanation, his mind running wild with possible ways he could escape this situation since he didn't actually walked home, until it finally popped into his mind.

“Ah, you can go ahead, I just remembered, my father will come to get me today,” he told them.

“Lucky! Do you think he could give us a ride?” Felix asked.

“Come on, your home is not even 15 minutes away,” Minho told him. “See you later!” He greeted Jisung before leaving with Felix.

Jisung sighed in relief. This could have been a catastrophe.

-

Something was wrong with Jisung, Minho could easily tell. He was a good observer, and he could see how Jisung seemed even more tired than usual, how he looked to be hurt too often and how he strangely always tried to hide it from their friends, like he had done just now so he wouldn't walk with them. When Jisung had told Minho that he had had a bad score at the math pretest, Minho could barely believe it. He knew that Jisung had really good grades. They had been friends for a year now, since Jisung had moved to their school, how could he not know this already.

There were clearly other things he tried to hide from them, and it annoyed Minho now more than ever.

Thinking about it, Minho had never seen Jisung’s parents, or their house. He never invited any of them over as far as he could remember. Well, he wasn’t Jisung’s oldest friend, Chan was. He knew him before Jisung moved to their school.

Some part of him wanted to respect Jisung’s desire to have a personal life, but another part was curious.

They had made a promise to each other two days ago, and he felt like he wouldn’t be able to fulfill it if he didn’t know more about Jisung.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?” Felix asked him. “Is it a girl?” He teased him. “Or maybe a boy?!”

Minho pushed him in answer. “Don’t talk nonsense,” he scoffed.

-

Jisung looked as his watch taking the last bite of his lunch before he entered the sport center. He made his way quickly to the practice room. He had been able to leave a bit early from the Study club and was only 5 minutes late.

“Well that’s a new record!” Chan greeted him with a warm smile as soon as he saw him. The others applauded mockingly, and he took the attention gratefully. “You’re even there before Minho and Felix.”

“We’re here!” Said two boys exclaimed as they arrived out of breath to the practice room.

“You’re late,” Jisung commented, the two of them started running after him, ready to beat him up. Jisung screamed and ran away until he decided to hide behind Chan for protection.

“Enough, let’s practice now, you can beat him up later,” Chan told them.

“Channie, don’t say that!” Jisung whined, not liking the way he had said that so casually, not even trying to protect him one bit.

He deserved it though for teasing them.

“We were lucky my mother gave us a ride,” Felix told Chan as they walked back home. “I don’t know how Jisung does that every practice!”

Thinking about it, Minho started calculating in his head. If it took about 20 minutes from the school to his house and about 35 minutes from his house to the sport center, then it didn’t leave much time for Jisung to eat with his father, maybe 30 minutes. Why was his father not letting him eat with them instead? That would be easier for Jisung. He wouldn’t get an answer until he knew more about Jisung’s personal life.

And just like everyday, after practice, as they were walking back home together, Minho ended up being alone with Jisung.

“Were you alright during practice?” Minho asked Jisung as soon as they were alone.

“Yeah, it didn’t hurt as much as during p.e.” Jisung admitted.

“Can I see?” Minho asked.

Jisung pushed him a bit. “Are you worried about me?” He teased him.

Minho scoffed, but didn’t deny it. “Just show me already.”

“Don’t worry it’s not that bad. It’s just a little bruised, that’s all.”

“Jisung, I said I’ll be there for you no matter what, right?” Minho was more serious now. “Now, please let me see.”

Jisung was still hesitant. He didn't want Minho to really worry about him, but how could he refuse his request with what he had just said to him?

“Alright,” Jisung agreed, removing his backpack and turning his back to him, lifting his shirt up a bit.

Minho bent down to have a better look, but he could see that Jisung was hiding part of it, not revealing everything, just the side of what was clearly bigger darker bruises. Annoyed, he picked up Jisung’s shirt himself and lifted it all up. It lasted a second, but he saw everything, old bruises and new ones, littered his back.

“What the…!? Are you crazy!?” Jisung exclaimed, stepping away and putting back his shirt in place. “Pervert…”

Minho gave him an unimpressed look. “You lied to me,” he pouted in answer and went on his way.

“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t fell down the stairs, did you?” Minho answered grumpily, still walking.

Jisung felt bad, but he couldn’t tell him the truth. It hurt already so much to hide so much from those he considered like his brothers, but now the fact that Minho was being aware that he was lying to him made everything worse. He shouldn’t have shown him the bruises.

Jisung followed him, not knowing what to do to make him think of something else and cheer him up. As they were walking Jisung realized that Minho wasn’t turning when they arrived at his house’s street.

“Minho, you’re not going the right way,” Jisung commented.

“No, we’re going to your house.”

“What?”

“I want to take you home, I’ll go home after.”

“You don’t have to, I can get home safely like usual, you know,” Jisung tried to protest.

“Didn’t ask you for your consent,” Minho replied, and they stared at each other for a long moment before Jisung’s eyes turned to the ground and he suddenly looked angry.

“Stop it. I don’t want you to come with me,” Jisung told him seriously, making Minho’s heart sink a bit.

“Jisung…” Minho tried more softly. He didn’t mean to make things this difficult for Jisung. He just wanted to know more about him, to get closer to him, to make sure he made it home safe, and maybe protect him from anymore bruises.

Jisung felt like he was cornered and he didn’t like it at all. He wanted to stay close to Minho, but clearly he was weak in front of him, he had shown him his bruised back so easily because he had asked. Jisung felt stupid. What did he expect? That Minho would just look at it and go on with his life as he it was nothing important? He couldn’t let that happen again…

“Don’t think too highly of our friendship. We’re not that close that I’d show you my house,” Jisung spit, and Minho felt deeply hurt by those words, as if they were literally poison.

Jisung left without waiting for Minho to recover from the shock those words had caused him, not even daring to meet Minho’s hurt-filled eyes.

It was a few meters away, out of sight, that he stopped walking and found himself awfully dizzy. He staggered backward a bit. Saying this, pushing him away like that, it hurt him too.

He didn’t feel good at all now, there was a painful guilty pang in his heart.

Was it really for the best?

\----

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you liked it!!

I also just wanted to share my art with you because I'm proud of it, so here it is: 

Follow me on Instagram! @Jessiebulby_art


	3. Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Preview for this chapter: Jisung is weak for Minho. :)
> 
> ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:   
> I didn't include Woojin in this fic. This doesn't mean I don't love him!! I will support him in his new projects for sure! <3 It's just that this fic will focus mainly on Minsung anyway, and since he is not a member of Stray Kids anymore I personally don't feel compelled to include him in the Stray Kids' fics I'll write in the future unless his presence feels right and necessary to the story. Please don't hate me for that T_T

The days that followed Minho and Jisung’s last private and awful conversation were weird.

Jisung kept avoiding Minho. Even when they were forced to pair up with each other, either for group projects or during practice, Minho felt like Jisung had voluntarily put a wall between them. It didn’t stop Minho from caring about him though, it even just made him more observant. He could see the dark circles under Jisung’s eyes better, the way he had a hard time staying awake in class, and how the light had slightly dimed in his eyes. He wanted to help him, to make whatever was eating at him go away, but he was useless right now. He had messed up, because he had been too impatient, and now Jisung wouldn’t open up to him anytime soon.

All weekend, despite texting more than usual, desperately trying to get things back to normal with him, Jisung barely answered, and only to the group conversation. He felt even more distant, as if they weren’t even friends anymore. Honestly, it enraged him. Even if he spent time with his cats to try to feel better, he couldn’t get Jisung out of his mind.

Then, on Tuesday, at lunch Chan joined them, looking anxious and serious.

“I have some bad news,” he started, and everyone listened to him attentively. “I just met with the principal. Our club doesn’t fit the requirements needed to keep receiving funds from the school.”

“What? Why?” Jeongin asked, confused.

“We need a professional coach so it can be recognized as a true extra-curricular activity. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough funds right now, because all of it is used to rent the practice room. The principal offered me two options. We can either find a sponsor that would help us pay for a coach or we could place high enough at the next competition, so that our club would be recognized as worthy of receiving more funds.”

“What happens if nothing works?” Hyunjin asked, worried.

“We will stop receiving funds from the school and be forced to put an end to the club,” Chan admitted.

“Alright, let’s find a sponsor then!” Jisung said, determined. “We can go around the city and try to get enough money to pay for a coach! Many other clubs do that too.”

“And we’re definitely gonna make it on the podium at the competition this time!” Felix said, hopeful.

“Yeah, it’s great to see you so motivated! Let’s do this! Ah, and for the sponsor we just need something to offer in exchange for their donations,” Chan told them, happy that his friends were all ready to put even more energy into this club.

“Oh! I have an idea!” Hyunjin added. “We could do a street performance and make a shout out to them? It would allow us to show our skills too and practice performing in front of a crowd.”

“That’s actually a really good idea,” Changbin commented, amazed.

“Don’t act so surprised!” Hyunjin said to him, offended.

“I’m so glad to have you all,” Chan told them happily. “I’ll go take care of the sponsor’s forms. We’ll decide on a date and a time to go distribute them later. See ya!” And just like that Chan left.

Even if they had a plan and were pretty positive they could find a solution, they still couldn’t help the little extra pressure that was put on all of them to perform flawlessly at the upcoming competition.

They still had three weeks before the competition. They would need to put in more efforts to completely master their whole performance.

“I have to go now, see you later!” Jisung told them standing up and ready to leave to go study at the library.

“I’m coming with you,” Minho decided.

Jisung didn’t reject him, so he thought it would be fine, but as soon as they were out of view from the others, Jisung faced him. He didn’t look angry, but more like pleading.

“Minho, I know what you’re trying to do, and I swear, if you don’t stop, I’ll have to be mean. I don’t want to have to act this way with you.”

“Then don’t.”

“It’s not as easy as that!”

“Yes, it is,” Minho replied, stepping closer. “Just tell me what’s going on. I promised I would always be there for you, remember? And I’ll keep my promise no matter what you tell me.”

Jisung felt his heart flutter for a moment, and he knew that he was done for. Looking right into Minho’s stubborn eyes, he felt something strange inside of him, as if any wall he had constructed around his heart was getting completely smashed down by him. It scared hm… But he also liked it, he couldn’t deny it. He liked that Minho was caring about him this much and that he looked ready to face everything with him, as he had promised.

“You made the same promise to me too, remember?” Minho added, hesitantly taking Jisung’s hand. This simple gesture caused Jisung’s heart to pick up in pace. “So, please, don’t push me away. I need you by my side too, you know.”

Since when was Minho this good with words? They were making Jisung flustered and unable to stay true to his desire to keep him away. He couldn’t anymore… It had only been a few days and it had been so incredibly difficult already. It demanded too much out of Jisung to keep this up. He needed Minho by his side. But he also needed to make him understand that the situation was more complicated than it seemed.

“O-ok… Ok, I’ll tell you the truth, but I just need a bit more time,” Jisung stuttered, looking away, a blush spreading over his cheeks and ears. “I won’t push you away anymore, just don’t act recklessly, like the other night. It could get the both of us in trouble,” he continued, making sure Minho understood that part very well. “And I want to keep my promise too, so if anything is bothering you, you can always come to me,” he added embarrassingly.

Minho’s face lit up at Jisung’s words.

“Alright, let’s go study math now. That’s what you were going to do right?” Minho told him satisfied with the outcome of their conversation and already changing subject so it wouldn’t weight on them anymore. He let go of Jisung’s hand and they started walking back to the lockers to get their things.

Jisung felt anxious. He didn’t know if it truly was the right thing to do, to let Minho get through him like that, but he wanted to hope that everything would end up happily if he trusted someone else for once. At least, he would have someone to talk to when things got rough with his father.

They spent the rest of their lunchtime helping each other understand what they had a hard time mastering for the math exam. It felt nice, way more pleasant and stress-free than any extra classes and private lessons.

He liked it, and for once he didn’t want to stop studying, as long as he could spend more time like this with Minho.

Even if their quarrel hadn’t lasted too long, Jisung had missed him.

After school, when they went back home and they ended up alone together again, Jisung decided to make it last a little longer by stopping by the park that was on their way, Minho followed him without a word. Jisung found a good spot under a tree, sighing happily as he sat there.

He owed Minho an apology for his terrible behaviour of the week before.

“Sorry for what I said to you the other day,” he told him as Minho sat down beside him.

“It’s ok, I know you didn’t really mean what you said,” Minho replied. “Just don’t do something like this again.”

Jisung agreed with a sorry laugh. There was silence for a moment.

“What’s your obsession with tomorrow’s math test? You helped me more than I helped you, so what are you worried about?” Minho broke the silence.

“Yeah… It’s because it’s important for my father that I excel in school. My score on the pretest wasn’t really satisfying to him.”

“Well, all parents are a bit like that. If I don’t have good grades, my mom gets easily angry,” Minho replied. “What score did you get?”

Jisung hesitated before answering, but he really wanted to trust that Minho would really stay no matter what. “I got 89.”

Minho was silent for a long moment, as if having trouble processing Jisung’s answer. “Woah, ok… I didn’t expect that… Your father is really demanding.”

“Yeah…”

Then, Minho turned to look at Jisung better. “Tell me, he’s not the one who gave you those bruises on your back?”

Jisung sighed and shook his head.

“Would you tell me who did?”

“It’s no use. You can’t change anything about it,” Jisung replied.

“I can try,” Minho replied.

“You’re a teenager, and… and you don’t know my father,” Jisung almost said too much.

“You said it wasn’t your father.”

“It’s not him… but he’s involved.” Minho quietly waited for more information, but Jisung wasn’t ready to tell him more. “Not yet,” Jisung, decided. “It’s just… not yet…”

“Alright… I’ll wait,” Minho agreed. “But, tell me if it gets too serious… I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“Ok… Don’t worry for now, it looks worse than it actually is,” Jisung told him. “It’s nice to see that you care about me,” he teased him, wanting to break the heavy tension this conversation caused.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Minho replied with a mocking smile.

“Aw, come on, man, just admit that you care!” Jisung nudged, poking him and threatening to tickle him.

“Alright, alright! Maybe I care,” Minho admitted with a bright smile, amused by Jisung’s trick.

Minho’s smile was so bright it caught Jisung off guard. He’d seen him smile so many times already, it was more than common, but something in how it affected Jisung was different. It made him much happier than it should.

Jisung found himself unable to look at Minho any longer, as if he wouldn’t be able to contain the deep euphoria it created inside him. He needed some space. He felt as if all his confidence had just flown away and left him weak. Weak for Minho… He stood up then, making Minho confused for a moment.

“You shouldn’t do that, smile like that,” Jisung commented a bit grumpily, annoyed at the unstoppable emotions he felt.

“What? Why?” Minho frowned, confused and offended. “You don’t like when I smile?”

“No, it’s…” Jisung let out a groan before mumbling the real reason why as he took his backpack from the ground and left. “I like it too much.”

“What was that?” Minho asked, surprised and wanting to make sure he had heard right.

“Not repeating it!” Jisung yelled back as he kept going, leaving the park and going back on his way home.

“Come on! Just say it once more!” Minho insisted, catching up with him, but Jisung remained tight-lipped.

They still enjoyed the rest of the walk, taking their time and enjoying each other’s company as long as they could. It was nice. Jisung wanted everyday to feel as peaceful and pleasant.

But of course, happiness was always followed by pain.


	4. Unprepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Jisung faces the consequences of his tardiness... But Minho is here to make sure he eats breakfast.
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT <3
> 
> Thanks!!

“How dare you be late!?”

_Slap!_

“I’m sorry, I forgot it was earlier today…”

_Slap!_

Jisung hardly contained his tears. It stung so bad.

His father’s assistants and Professor Byeon were looking at him from the side, not shocked at all by the sight of Jisung being hit by his father. His father had hired them and paid them enough that they would never care about Jisung, no matter what he did to him in front of them. Money was power, and Jisung’s father had a lot of it.

“What were you doing?! Wasting your time with friends? You can’t afford that, Jisung!” His father scolded him. “Now get to your room, and you better show some fucking results!”

Jisung quickly took his things and ran up the stairs, Professor Byeon following soon after.

For every bad answer, Professor Byeon slapped Jisung’s back with his baton, and today he hit harder than usual, probably taking advantage of the fact that Jisung really couldn’t complain to anyone about it. This man was a sadist that had found the perfect client.

When he finally left, Jisung thought it would be over, but as he got downstairs to have a snack and a glass of water before going back to studying, since he hadn’t eaten dinner, he heard the sound of glass breaking followed by angry mumbling. He froze in place just as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Jisung backed up slowly, silently going up a step at a time. Was his father drunk? He didn’t want to see him in this state. But life was never easy for Jisung… As soon as he turned around to get back to his room, his father caught him.

“You! Come here!” His father called, and Jisung feared the worst as he obeyed his father, stopping just down the stairs again, hoping he didn’t have to get closer to him. “I said come here!” His father reiterated, pointing right in front of him.

Jisung hesitantly walked to where he had pointed. His father didn’t wait any second before backslapping him. Jisung fell to the ground from the force of it, his cheek hurting more than expected. This hit had been stronger than usual.

“It’s all your fucking fault! You stupid useless child!” He kicked him.

It wasn’t the first time his father had kicked him, but it still hurt a whole lot. Jisung was even more terrified now of his violent father in this drunk state. He wasn’t thinking clear. Another kick followed soon after.

“D-dad stop… Please… it hurts,” Jisung tried as he received another kick in the stomach.

“Shut up!” His father kicked him again, harder this time.

Jisung let out a yelp as it hit a particularly sensible spot near his ribs. He was huddled on the ground trying as hard as he could to cover his head and protect himself so he could endure the hits without angering his father even more, tears streaming down his face as he wished for it to end soon. It didn’t last too long at least… His father realized his glass was empty after a few more hits and let go of Jisung to fill it up once more. Jisung didn’t hesitate to silently run back up to his room as soon as his father was out of sight, closing the door behind him as soon as he was in. He pressed his back to it and winced as he let himself slide down to the ground, clutching onto his painful abdomen. Heavy muffled sobs escaped his throat as he prayed that his father would just forget about him. It hurt, he was scared, he hated it…

When he woke up to his alarm the next morning at 5, he panicked. When had he fallen asleep?!

No! No no no, he didn’t study enough the night before! And the math exam was this morning…

He was doomed. He was completely doomed!

He quickly dressed up and left in less than 10 minutes. He ran to school and focused on studying as much as he could, but his anxiety was too high, and he couldn’t concentrate well.

“Ah, Jisung!” Felix greeted him happily.

Jisung lifted his head to see that the students were already coming in. Felix, Minho and Changbin walked in and stopped by Jisung’s desk as they usually did.

“Woah, so studious as always,” Felix commented, amazed.

“Yeah, hum… I don’t have time to talk to you right now,” he admitted.

“Oh ok, study well then,” Changbin told him, looking worried, but also understanding, and dragged Felix away from Jisung’s desk. Minho went to his usual place right in front of Jisung’s.

He kept looking at him for a long moment, concerned. He could see that something was terribly off with him. He would have to talk to him after the exam. When the class started and the teacher gave the test papers, Minho could feel the anxiety from Jisung even without looking at him.

When they were done, they were allowed to leave early for their break. Minho waited until Jisung finished. He was the last one to leave the classroom.

“Here, eat,” Minho handed him a breakfast pastry and a carton of coffee milk. Jisung looked surprised by Minho’s attention, hesitating to take what he was giving him. “You didn’t eat anything for breakfast, right?”

“How do you know?” Jisung asked, finally taking the pastry and the milk.

“Just guessed that you were probably too focused on studying to think of eating breakfast.”

Jisung admitted that Minho was indeed right and they walked to the cafeteria so he could eat. Jisung took a big bite of the tasty pastry and munched happily, thanking Minho for the meal. It felt like it was even tastier than usual since Minho had bought it for him.

“You didn’t answer my messages last night…” Minho said out of the blue.

Jisung took the time to swallow his food before answering. He didn’t even remember looking at his phone other than to silence the alarm this morning.

“I was too focused on studying,” he lied glancing at him, but not wanting to meet his eyes any longer than a second, in case he would see right through him.

A few seconds later, Minho was leaning over the table, his hands on each side of Jisung’s face and lifting it up a bit, looking him over intensely, only a few centimetres away. His face was so close to Jisung, that he could almost feel his breath on his skin. Jisung immediately blushed brightly and panicked at the proximity. He jumped back and fell off his seat, landing on his poor bottom.

“What is wrong with you!? Too close! That was too close!” Jisung exclaimed as he sat back on his seat, embarrassed.

“Sorry,” Minho said, amused by Jisung’s reaction.

“You better be,” Jisung threatened him, continuing to eat his snack angrily.

“Your cheeks… Did you get hit again?” Minho asked.

Jisung didn’t deny it.

“Anywhere else too?”

Instinctively, Jisung reached for his still sensible stomach.

“Don’t tell the others,” Jisung mumbled.

“I won’t, unless you allow me to. Will you tell me who did it? Please… I just want to know.”

Jisung remained silent, munching on his pastry, lost in his thoughts. How much could he say? What could he tell him exactly? He hadn’t had enough time to think about it, to organize his thoughts and the information he was willing to give Minho right now. Still, there was a part of him, which was gaining in strength lately, that really just wanted to tell him everything once and for all. He wanted to trust Minho, he really truly did…

“It’s…” He started.

“What are you two doing here by yourselves? We were looking all over for you!” Chan, Felix and Changbin joined them then, taking them both by surprise. “Here, this is for you both,” Chan continued, not waiting for an answer, giving them both a pile of papers. It was the sponsoring forms they had to distribute.

“You didn’t answer the group chat yesterday, Jisung, but we can all do this Saturday. It would be nice if you could come as well. We thought about going to a restaurant after that and maybe spend some time at the arcade too.”

“That’d be awesome! I haven’t been to the arcade in ages!” He agreed right away, super hyped, and internally thanking him for interrupting them.

“Great! We decided to meet up at 1 pm in front of the sport center, don’t be late, ok?”

Jisung needed that, a day out with his friends. He could tell his father he was doing some team project at the library downtown or something like that. Taking a day off could only be good after all that had happened lately, and now that he had done his math exam, he didn’t have anything to worry about regarding school until the next exam.

Yeah, he had deserved that day out. It would be awesome!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My next fic will probably a superpowerAU... I'm reading one here, on AO3, and it's pretty awesome! You should definitely check it out: The Adventures of Stray Kids by Minhoskitties. <3


	5. Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Here's another chapter! Highlight: Chan and Minho are good friends <3
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!
> 
> Thanks!!

Practice was going awfully, Jisung just couldn’t move right because of how much his ribs and abdomen hurt. Minho, who was making sure that everyone was doing the choreo correctly had clearly overlooked many of his errors, because he knew Jisung was hurting, and Chan finally caught onto that.

“Go back to your position, I’ll have a look at the choreo,” he decided, visibly unsatisfied.

Jisung put in an extra effort to do better, but this ultimately caused him to wince at one particularly demanding movement for his abdomen. Chan stopped them then. They were all anxious, they knew someone would get scolded.

“Jisung, come with me,” Chan called him, taking him outside the practice room.

“What’s going on?” Jisung stuttered anxiously.

“Are you ok? Your moves were weird.”

Like he had expected, Chan had noticed…

“I might have slightly sprained something in my ribs,” he told him as if it was nothing. “I can still…” A yelp escaped his lips as he stuttered back, holding his stomach.

Chan had just poked his stomach to test Jisung and make sure he hadn’t imagined his pained expression earlier while practicing.

“’Slightly sprained’? You step out for today. If you’re injured, you have to say it and rest. Otherwise it could get worst,” Chan warned him.

Jisung didn’t protest, he probably actually needed some rest, but what Chan didn’t know was that him hurting was a common thing. He had no choice but to endure it, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to dance with them. This club was his only way to really enjoy life.

“Say… No one is causing you trouble, right?” Chan asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Han asked back, confused.

“It’s just… I’ve noticed some things. If there’s anything, if anyone is bullying you or hurting you, you can always come to me. I’ll do everything I can to help, ok?” Chan was looking at him with worry in his eyes and a comforting smile on his lips.

“Don’t worry, if there’s anything, I’ll tell you,” Jisung reassured him with a bright smile.

Of course, Jisung couldn't tell him, so he had to lie, which annoyed him a lot, but telling him the truth was out of the question. Chan was already so busy and worried with everything. He didn't deserve to be burdened even more.

Chan didn’t seem quite convinced, but he let it go for now. Even if he was still concerned, this conversation would have to wait, because they already had limited time to use the practice room.

Chan was Jisung’s oldest friend in their group of friends. They were both interested in music and it was this common passion that had been the base of their friendship about 2 years ago. Jisung had studied abroad in Malaysia most of his life. After Jisung’s mother had left, Jisung’s father had decided to come back to Korea. They had met by chance when Jisung had come with his father to visit what was now their home. Since the weather was really nice outside, he had gone to the park to spend some time there while his father was visiting the house. Chan was there with his laptop, mixing music in the park. Jisung had approached him hesitantly, super curious as he was also interested in writing lyrics and producing music. And that’s how their friendship started. Then, when Jisung had finally moved, Chan had showed him around the city and introduced him to the Performing club.

Jisung would always be grateful to Chan, for being his first and oldest friend, and for allowing him to meet his best friends and share the same passion for performing with them.

He watched them all practice for about 15 more minutes. They didn’t add any new moves to make sure that Jisung wouldn’t be lagging behind the rest of the group, and instead they worked on perfectionating what they had already practiced.

Jisung felt bad, they could’ve progressed better if he hadn’t been hurt.

Later, before they left the sport center, Chan took him aside again to talk a bit.

“How did you get hurt?” Chan asked, concerned.

“Ah, that’s an embarrassing story. I actually fell down the stairs at home.”

“Are you ok? You should maybe see a doctor, it looks like it’s pretty bad.”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll be all healed up soon enough, I’m sure!”

“Jisung… Don’t push yourself too hard, or else you’ll collapse. You’ve been going to bed late and waking up at like 5 everyday, right?"

Ah, he probably saw when Jisung was connected on the messaging app they used.

"That’s not good. You also study like crazy these days, and I understand that school is important, but your mental health is also important. We can see you struggling with your anxiety and we’re all concerned. Take better care of yourself and tell us if something is wrong. We’re all here for you, no matter what, ok?” Chan told him.

And Jisung felt awful. He was touched by his words and the fact that Chan and the others worried about him, don’t get him wrong, but he also felt bad because he didn’t want them to.

“Are you two coming or not?” Changbin called impatiently as they all exited the practice room.

“Coming!” Chan answered back right away, sending a last smile at Jisung before taking his backpack and running to their friends.

“Ah, don’t leave me behind!” Jisung panicked following soon after.

They walked, talked and played on the way back home, as they usually did, enjoying their usual cold drinks. Jisung couldn’t imagine living without his friends. They made his life more enjoyable and the pain he had to endure more bearable. He would do anything for them. He knew things would change with time, but for now he wanted them to stay together for as long as they could.

And he felt somewhat peaceful simply enjoying this kind of moments with them.

Minho passed an arm over Jisung shoulders as he laughed at one of Felix’s antics, encouraging him to join in on their fun.

One after the other, they left their own way to go back home, and again, Minho and Jisung ended up alone.

“Did Chan scold you?” Minho asked, finally letting go of Jisung’s shoulders.

“No, he’s just concerned.”

“Ok…” He answered and a heavy silence settled between them, until Minho broke it again. “Does it still hurt a lot?”

“Yeah…” He admitted, looking at the ground, kicking stones as he walked.

“What happened?”

“I… I guess I just deserved it,” Jisung answered.

Minho stopped walking for a moment, shocked by Jisung’s vague reason. How was this possible? Deserved it? No, Minho couldn’t see how someone as bright and pure as Jisung could deserve pain like that. Minho went back to Jisung’s side in a few strides.

“I doubt you deserved to be hit. I mean, yeah, you can be annoying sometimes, but this doesn’t mean you should be hurt this way!”

Jisung scoffed at Minho’s words, but they barely helped in making their conversation a little less heavy.

“Depends… I’m just… making mistakes all the time…” Jisung explained vaguely.

“I don’t get it… Who does this to you?”

Jisung wished he could get back in time and hide everything better from Minho. He hated that he was this concerned about him.

“Minho, don’t worry too much about it. Even if it hurts, as long as I don’t end up alone without my father, I can handle it,” Jisung told him.

One of his biggest fears was that his father would leave him like his mother did, that he would end up parentless.

Minho stopped walking and grabbed his hand to stop Jisung too. Once Jisung’s attention was back on Minho, the latter hugged him, making sure not to do it too tightly so it wouldn’t hurt him.

“Minho…”

“Listen to me, ok?” Minho started still hugging him. “You’ll never be alone. I promised to always be there for you, didn’t I? Then, that means, I’ll always be by your side, I’ll never leave you alone. So, you can stop letting yourself get hurt whenever you want and come to me instead. I won’t hurt you ever.”

Jisung felt his heart flutter again at each word, at Minho’s closeness, at the hope and love he gave him. He hugged him back and enjoyed the warmth and deep intoxicating happiness it brought him.

"So cheesy..." Jisung commented and Minho scoffed in answer, but they still stayed like that for a long time, neither of them wanting to break the hug. But it had to be done at some point... “My father will be angry at me if I don’t get home soon,” Jisung mumbled, still not seeming to be about to let go.

“You could come over? I’m sure my mom would love to see you again, it’s been so long.”

“I can’t. He’s going to be even angrier. I’m… I’m actually not supposed to have friends.”

At that, Minho broke the hug to look at Jisung with a frown.

“What the hell? Why?”

“I have to focus on studying, and he considers that having friends is a distraction.”

“Then, how is he ok with the Performance club?”

“He doesn’t know. I told him that the Study club ends at 6h30.”

“Do you go to the Study club too?” Minho asked, pieces of puzzle coming into place in his mind, and Jisung nodded as expected. “That’s why you’re always late! Do you even have time to eat?”

“Yeah, I eat dinner while walking to the sport center.”

“For how long have you been doing that?” Minho was completely outraged.

“Since I got here.”

“How haven’t you collapsed yet?”

“It’s not that bad, Minho!” Jisung countered right away with a reassuring smile. “I’m used to this…”

“Well, your dark circles say otherwise! And you need to rest more when your body is hurt.”

Jisung took each side of Minho’s face in his hands and forced him to look at him.

“It’s ok. I’m doing better than you think. If there’s anything, if I really feel like my body is gonna give up on me, I’m gonna tell you right away, ok? Same as if things get too serious at home.”

Minho looked in Jisung’s eyes for a long moment, as if lost in them and Jisung saw the moment he was back to reality.

“O-ok…” Minho nodded quickly.

“I really gotta go now, so see you tomorrow!” Jisung told him looking at the time on his phone and already leaving.

Minho was left alone at the corner of the street, conflicted with his feelings.

Since when did Jisung make his stomach tickle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to complete my Stray Kids and Ateez albums collection, like have all the albums and versions and everything... This means all of my money will be spent on Stray Kids and Ateez in the months to come x)


	6. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> I wanted to update sooner, but life happened and I forgot about it... I was actually busy trading pcs and getting one of my friends into Stray Kids :)
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is soft <3
> 
> Please leave a comment ^.^
> 
> Thanks!!

Jisung knew that he couldn’t just leave, but his father had yet to wake up from his night of drinking.

“Bonjour, Mr. Han,” Sanghee, their cleaning lady, greeted him, startling him right out of his anxious thoughts.

He felt like his soul had just jumped right out of his body and he was barely able to contain the scream that had threatened to escape his lips. Gosh, he had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t heard or seen her enter the house.

“Sorry, I thought you heard me enter,” she told him sweetly.

“No problem, Madam Sanghee,” he reassured her, even though his heart was still beating so fast in his chest. “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

“Always so polite,” she complimented him. “Is your father still asleep?”

“Yes, he… he had a long night,” he glanced at the dining room and she did the same. Even if they couldn’t see it all, there was a lot of broken glass and food on the ground.

“Are you ok?” She asked him, concerned.

“Yes, I just…”

She then noticed the bloodied band-aids he had clumsily put around his fingers.

“Oh no, what happened?” She exclaimed softly, worry evident in her voice, despite the fact that she was trying her best not to speak too loudly so she wouldn’t wake up Jisung’s father.

“I tried to clean it up a bit, but I just ended up cutting myself,” he lied.

Truth be told, his father was already drunk when he had gotten home the night before. And while eating dinner, his father had started yelling at him, telling him that he was the worst son ever and that all their problems were his fault. When Jisung had tried to say a word, all hell had broken lose. His father had thrown plates and glasses at him. The cuts were because he had slipped while trying to escape his father’s violent anger, and cut his hand on some broken glass while standing back up.

“You didn’t put on gloves?” She asked. “You careless child, you should be more careful! You should have just left it like that for me to clean! I have gloves for these kinds of things. Ah, let me take care of your fingers properly.”

And just like that, she removed the band-aids carefully, took a look at the cuts on his fingers, sighed and led him to the bathroom. She cleaned the cuts carefully. Jisung kept anxiously glancing at the clock.

“Are you in a hurry?” She asked when she noticed.

“I have to meet with friends at 1 in front of the sport center,” he admitted. “Don’t tell my father though. I left him a note in his office to tell him I was going to study for a group project. You know how he is,” he added.

She smiled softly and apologizingly to him and then started bandaging the cuts.

“Jisung, let me tell you this… If your father goes too far one day, you can get help. It might be scary, but it’s important to get help when you need it. No child deserves to be abused.”

“Don’t worry, Madam Sanghee, I’m ok.”

She smiled at that, but her eyes still had a lot of worry and sadness in them. He liked her eyes, they were motherly, it reminded him of his mother, before she abandoned them. Sanghee finished bandaging his fingers and he left right after, thanking her deeply for her time and care.

Of course, Minho was waiting for him on his way and he started asking many questions about his left hand covered in band-aids right away. Jisung reassured him as best as he could with the little information he was ready to give him for now. Clearly, it wasn’t enough to make him stop worrying, but they still went back on their way to the sport center again to meet with the others.

“At least it’s my left hand, so I can still write,” he told Minho.

“Still, it’s going to be hard for you to make some of the moves during practice.”

“It’s just small cuts, it’s not a big deal.”

“Why are you either exaggerating everything or completely dismissing anything that could actually be important?” Minho scoffed. “You’re something else, you know?”

“Of course, I am! Life wouldn’t be fun otherwise!”

Minho smiled, liking his answer. Jisung was way too careless, but there was also no denying that that was also part of his charm. Minho couldn’t help but be embarrassed by his own thoughts.

To be honest, he had thought a lot about Jisung these past couple of days, the moments they had shared and the growing closeness. Being with him, becoming closer, it felt natural, and pleasant, and he liked it. He found himself wanting to spend always more time with him, to continue to break his walls, and to get closer to him than anybody else. Actually, he had always had these feelings deep down, but he was finally acknowledging them fully. He thought about it a lot, like almost every damn second he was awake, and even in his dreams it seemed, but now he knew exactly what it was.

He was falling for Jisung.

-

This day was one of the happiest Jisung had had in his life. They started with going almost in every shop and restaurant they could to give a little speech on their club and why they needed a sponsor. Jisung had hidden pro-seller aptitudes and he showed his skills fully, making it all more entertaining for him, Minho, who was his accomplice for the day, and the people who got to listen to him. At some point they all met up again and enjoyed some snacks Bang Chan had bought them as a thank you gift for helping their club and being full of energy and determination. It hyped them up even more and, when they continued, they were even more motivated. Jisung and Minho were the first ones to finish handing their sponsoring forms, so they won the right to choose the restaurant they would eat at. It was a small restaurant, but it was one of their favourites. They were selling the best fried chicken in town according to Jisung, and they soon understood why he was praising it so much. After that, they went to the arcade near the sport center and played for hours making many bets and such. Of course, Chan lost most of the bets, it was almost a running gag now. Chan really had bad luck against them and, even if he was considered one of the most skilled in almost everything in their group of friends, he still sucked at these kinds of games.

When they left, laughing, their bellies still full from the delicious fried chicken they had eaten, and feeling incredibly satisfied with their day, Jisung didn’t think it could get any better than that.

He was wrong. When he was left alone with Minho, they went on their own to hang out in the park.

“Ah, what a nice day!” Jisung exclaimed, sitting under the same tree they had been sitting under a few days ago. “I wish days like this never ended.” Minho sat right beside him, agreeing right away.

“Ah, I just remembered… Have you heard this song?”

Minho took out his phone and put on said song, wanting to show Jisung this new EDM-type of song he had discovered a few days ago. Jisung was instantly interested, and asked Minho to show him more of his playlist after that. Minho did so happily, playing some songs Jisung hadn’t heard before, and others that they both knew and enjoyed, to which they sang together.

The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky above in a soft mix of beautiful colours, which seemed to make everything around them a bit dreamy.

When a particularly smooth song started playing, Minho stood up and went in front of Jisung. He stood there hesitantly for a moment before he offered his left hand to Jisung.

Jisung felt a million butterflies suddenly fill his stomach. These butterflies had been there for days now, fluttering every time Minho laughed, smiled or called his name. And now it felt like they were completely going wild.

“Shall I have this dance?” Minho joked.

“Of course,” Jisung joined in on his act, taking his hand right away.

Minho helped him up and guided him, placing his hands in the right places, delicately, especially not to put pressure on Jisung's hurt left hand.

“Hey, isn’t that the girl’s position?” Jisung complained when he noticed how Minho was trying to place him.

“We’re two men, it doesn’t matter which position is which, but I’m the dance master here, so I have to lead the dance.”

“O-ok,” Jisung grumbled, unsure, but accepting Minho’s explanation anyway.

When Minho brought him a bit closer, Jisung felt like the butterflies would fly right out of his mouth, but, thankfully, he was able to contain the happiness and excitation he felt. They laughed a bit at their clumsiness at first, but when the awkwardness of the first steps went away, they settled in a smooth dance and found themselves soon lost in each other’s eyes. It was almost like a dream. They danced softly to the ballad playing on Minho’s phone with the pale pink sky above, and the park’s lights turning on one after the other around them. 

If there was a moment in life Jisung really wanted to relive forever, it would be this one.

And then it was broken brutally by the second song being a loud pop-rock one.

They laughed and looked both done as they let go of each other and went back to sit under the tree. There they continued listening to Minho’s playlist. Their hands found each other at some point and they didn’t let go for the rest of the evening. When the night finally fell, they agreed that they should probably get back home, even if neither of them wanted to.

When they parted ways, they finally let go of each other’s hand. Jisung felt like he was some incomplete puzzle suddenly, but didn’t mention it, simply wishing Minho a good night and going his own way.

Ah… He couldn’t deny it any longer.

He was falling for Minho, and he was falling hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm gonna get ruined in every sense possible by Stray Kids's comeback in June and I'm ready for it :) Also, I'm addicted to everything Skz give us lately, but I must say that Changbin's song "Streetlight" really hit something deep inside of me <3 It's so good, I can't get enough of it T.T


	7. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> Here's a darker chapter, but with a warm ending. I hope you'll like it <3
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! 
> 
> Thanks!!

Jisung entered his home still feeling blissful after this incredible day. He removed his shoes and passed by the living room with a soft smile on his face, thinking of the happy times he had had with his friends and the last hours he had spent alone with Minho. His heart was moved by a deep thrilling feeling at that last part.

“Where were you?” His father asked suddenly from behind him, making all the happiness go away in a flash, replaced by anxiety and dread. He turned around to see him looking angry like he had feared.

“I-I met with classmates to do a team proj…”

“Don’t lie to me!” His father cut him.

Jisung was shaking now. He had no choice, his father knew, clearly. Maybe someone he knew, or one of his assistants had seen him in town…

“I was with friends…”

His father didn’t move, but Jisung hadn’t seen him that angry in so long. His eyes were burning with rage and his expression made Jisung shiver as he hardly kept his eyes from the ground. It was as if a switched had flipped in his father’s mind, making him lose all sanity.

“So, you lied to me? And wasted your time to hang out with stupid friends?” He said calmly, and that calmness was even more dreadful, because it felt like the prelude to an explosion, or the calm before a storm, and that storm would be devastating. “How can you be such an idiot?! Friends are useless people that abandon you when they don’t have any more use for you! They’ll abandon you like your mother did with us! And what will be left, uh? Your fucking career! Stop acting like a naive fool and face reality! What truly matters is performance and success!”

Hearing his father hating on his friends like this, presuming that they would abandon him, made Jisung unbearably angry. It hit something deep in him, a fear that he had had for so long. He had lied to his friends and hid things for so long… But he had started to open up to Minho and he was still by his side, wasn’t he? His fear came from his father and he could see it clearly now. He was the one making him doubt his friends, and he hated it. Jisung felt his blood boil and, before he could really think things through, for the first time in years, he spoke up to his father.

“Shut up! My friends won’t abandon me! I’m not like you!” He took a pause, but he had to say it… “IT’S YOUR FAULT MOM LEFT US!”

It had been on his heart for so long, weighing heavily as he tolerated his father’s abuse, hoping that it would stop someday, that he would realise he was actually in the wrong.

There was silence for a moment, and then it all processed in Jisung’s head. He lifted his head to look fearfully at his father. It was too late to try to apologize now, he knew it right away. The way he was looking at jisung was full of hatred and… Jisung suddenly feared for his life.

His instincts kicked in and suddenly he was running up the stairs, desperately trying to reach a safe place in this house. He heard his father’s heavy footsteps after him, getting closer, getting louder. He was scared. So deeply terrified. He had never felt this way ever in his entire life. When he reached his room, he quickly entered and pushed the door closed, but it stopped mid-way.

No... His father kicked it and Jisung wasn’t strong enough to stop it. He was propelled backwards to the ground. Before he could recover from this hard fall, his father took him by the collar and punched him.

Jisung felt dazed for a long moment, a disgusting iron taste in his mouth. He fearfully expected his father to hit him again, but instead, his father took him by the upper arm and forced him out of the room again.

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry dad, I wasn’t thinking!” Jisung pleaded, crying his heart out, as he was harshly dragged down the hallway and back to the first floor. “I won’t do it again! I’m sorry!”

Jisung was terrified as he caught onto his father’s plan. They stopped in front of the basement’s door, and Jisung started struggling even more.

“No, dad, please, I’ll behave! I don’t want…” He cried, but was cut off when his father let go of his arm, making Jisung fall to the ground, and then he grabbed his hair and started slapping him again and again and again...

It stung so much, Jisung wanted him to stop. He hated it, being hurt, feeling scared. He was so tired of this.

When the slapping finally stopped, his father took his upper arm again and lifted him up the ground to push him down the stairs of the basement. Jisung tried to protect his head as he tumbled harshly until he reached the bottom of the stairs, hitting every part of his body as he couldn’t stop the fall.

When his fall finally came to a stop, panic took over his whole body at the suffocating darkness now engulfing him. He blindly climbed back up the stairs. He hated the basement. It was suffocating, dark and scary. It was maybe childish and stupid of him, but he feared the monsters that lurked in the dark, as if a ghost or something like that would jump on him and kill him any second. It also terrified him, because his father only locked him there when he intended to keep him there for a long time.

“Dad? D-dad?! Please, let me out! I’m sorry! Please!”

There was no answer. No no no no no! He couldn’t stay here! He was scared! He had to get out, he had to…

He couldn’t breathe! There was not enough air around him! He was going to die!

He hyperventilated for long minutes, unable to calm himself down from his panic attack.

When it finally stopped, he was so drained he couldn’t move anymore…

He fell asleep, scared, hurt and alone, holding onto himself tightly, making himself as small as possible, as if it would help protect him against this dark terrifying world.

-

Minho looked at the last message he had sent Jisung, thanking him for the time they had spent together. It hadn’t even been read, which left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Despite the fact that Jisung had said that it wasn’t his father who hurt him, there was clearly something going on at home. So, when Jisung was home, Minho felt better when he could see that he was online, or even better when they were texting.

“Honey, what’s wrong? You’ve been looking at your phone for a while without actually doing anything on it,” his mother asked as she joined him in the living room.

“I’m waiting for a message.”

“Oh? From who?”

“Jisung. He hasn’t seen the one I sent him yet.”

“Ah, this feels familiar. I was like that too when I first started dating your father,” she said as an attempt at teasing him.

“Mom…” he simply said in a complaining tone.

She laughed, but Minho couldn't join her, his mind was still full of various, and very absorbing thoughs, all of them involving Jisung.

“Is it ok?” He mumbled then, and she stopped laughing, looking confused. “Is it ok if I like him?”

There was silence for a moment, and he refused to look at his mother, scared to see her expression. Then, suddenly, there were arms around him, warm and loving.

“Of course, it is! When did I ever make you feel like it wasn’t ok?” She sounded upset.

“Sorry, I don’t know… I just wanted to make sure,” he admitted, a soft smile appearing on his lips.

He loved his mother so much, she was caring and, even if they didn’t always get along, they loved each other deeply.

“So, Jisung, uh?” His mother started.

He knew then that he had to go. He stood up and left, ignoring his mother’s questions.

“Nope, we’re not having that conversation!” He called before closing the door to his room.

Once in his room, he let himself fall lazily on his bed and started recalling the evening he had spent with Jisung, strong pleasant emotions filling him.

Ah, he was doomed. His heart felt like it already belonged to him completely.

But it was ok. Honestly, he was even more than ok with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STRAY KIDS COMEBACK IN JUNE I CAN'T- 
> 
> I literally screamed when I watched the trailer, and my boyfriend was sleeping so he got woken up xD (poor him)  
> I'm so excited! I was expecting it, but still wasn't ready at all for them to drop the trailer the day after TOP's mv's release x) My poor heart... Anyway, they can take all my money! I love them so much <3
> 
> (If you are into trading, follow me on insta: @jessie_proof)


	8. Hate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter. Nothing much happens honestly, but it's still pretty important :) 
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT <3
> 
> Thanks!!

When Jisung woke up his whole body was hurting and it was abnormally dark around him. It took him a few seconds before he started remembering what had happened with his father. Panic quickly built up inside him, but he was able to control it a bit this time, not wanting to black out again.

“Dad?! Please, let me out! I’m sorry!” He called, knocking on the basement door, but there was still no answer.

He stuck his ear to the door, trying to hear if his father was actually home.

Nothing. He heard nothing. He was alone… He backed away from the door until his back finally hit the wall behind and made himself as small as possible, covering his head with his arms, as if it could help protect him from the darkness.

He waited for hours before he finally heard someone enter the house, and he recognized whose footsteps it was right away, his body instantly starting to tremble in apprehension. The door to the basement was slammed open seconds later, making Jisung jump in place.

“Stand up.”

Jisung followed his father’s instruction instantly, not wanting to anger him anymore.

His father looked him up and down.

“Professor Byeon is coming soon. You’ll be having lessons with him on Sundays as well from now on. Go make yourself look presentable.”

Jisung did so right away. He was out of the basement and he would do anything to be on his father’s good side now. He didn’t want to experience the same fear and pain as he had the night before.

Once he reached his room, he looked at his shaking hands as he tried to calm his erratic heart. Would it always be this way now? Would seeing his father make him shake in fear like this all the time? It felt like it would, and he hated it…

His father was not how he remembered him in his happiest memories, there was nothing left of that part of him.

He was a monster now.

-

Minho was losing it. He needed news from Jisung yesterday, and he still had none!

**SKZ Group Chat**

**Bundles: Hey, does anyone know where Jisung lives?**

**Baby Changbin: Nope, if anyone would know it would be Chan!**

**Crispy: No, I don’t know… Why?**

**Bundles: Nothing…**

**Baby Changbin: Are you two like dating or something?**

**Bundles: No.**

**Lama Hyunjin: He wishes!**

**Bundles: Shut up!**

**Seungmin: Minho is whipped for Jisung!**

**Aussi Boi: WHIPPED!**

**Squirrel: You know I can read this too, right? I hate you all so much** **🙂**

**Maknae: I didn’t say anything!** **😭**

**Squirrel: Not you, Jeongin** **❤** **️**

Minho had to rub his eyes and read again to make sure he hadn’t imagined Jisung actually answering the group chat. He was about to call him when he received a message from him.

**Jisungie: Sorry, I went right to bed and overslept** **🤗**

**Minho: Ok… Are you ok?**

**Jisungie: Meet me at the park at 6 tomorrow?**

**Minho: 6? In the morning?**

**Jisungie: Yeah?**

**Minho: Ok… Still, are you ok?**

Jisung didn’t answer after that, and it unnerved him. Jisung tended to try to reassure him even when things looked bad, but now he didn’t anymore? He couldn’t wait until the next day. He wished that he was wrong and that Jisung simply wanted to spend some time with him. Gosh he hated knowing that he might need his help now but somehow couldn’t ask him.

He wanted him safe and unhurt, was it too much to ask for?

-

Jisung put his cellphone away and grimaced as he looked at himself in the mirror.

There were so many bruises all over his body. He had never seen so many… His left cheek had a deep blue tint and he had a cut lip. He also had a headache and muscle aches. He hated that some of the bruises on his arms looked so much like fingerprints. He would have to wear long-sleeved shirts and hoodies this week.

Looking at him, seeing his miserable state made him depressed.

Maybe he should get help…

But getting help was scary. He didn’t want to anger his father even more. If people showed up and saw that he lived comfortably in this big house with clothes and food always at his disposal, would they really care if his father punished him harsher than normal? Wouldn’t they think that his case was not too much of a priority? Would they leave him be with his father who would only be angrier and probably more violent too because of Jisung’s attempt at leaving him too?

It was better to endure everything until University. He had two years to wait. Yet, in a year, it had already worsened this much. How bad would it keep on getting over time?

He sighed and put his shirt on. Professor Byeon would be here soon.

Jisung’s cellphone lit up with new notifications from the group chat, but he didn’t answer them and turned off his phone. When he was with Professor Byeon, it was better to have no distraction at all.

He wished he didn’t have to. He wanted to be free, to be able to spend his Sunday with his friends again or doing things he actually liked doing, not just studying.

There were a lot of things he wanted, and a lot of things he didn’t want.

But making things right for himself, and fighting for his own well-being and happiness, required too much risks and struggles.

He wasn’t ready to take those risks and face everything yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bought 8 limited version albums for Stray Kids' comeback... and the three normal versions... Honestly, Stray Kids can take all my money, they are that important to me <3
> 
> Also, I'm addicted to Victon's new song, Mayday <3 It's just soooo good! If you haven't watched the mv, I strongly suggest you do ^.^
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!!


	9. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!
> 
> Sorry for the long wait, I have had arough week and didn't have the energy to update this fic :( I lost my precious pet rat Tory... She had various illnesses and one of them really had a toll on her, so we had to put her down. The same day, my other baby, Yuki, wouldn't move, eat or drink anything anymore and looked like she was struggling to breathe... We brought her to the vet and they gave us meds... She's a bit better now, but I was really scared I would lose her too :( 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is a bit fluffy, but also really angsty! I hope you'll like it! 
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT <3
> 
> Thanks!!

Jisung was exhausted and his headache just wouldn’t go away. He knew he should have asked his father to stay home and rest today, but he wouldn’t have agreed anyway… and he really needed to meet up with Minho, his sanity literally depended on that.

As soon as he saw him, waiting under their usual tree, Jisung felt something strong and coming from deep down inside of him. Before Minho could even greet him, Jisung had his arms around his chest and was holding onto him tightly.

“Hey, are you ok?” Minho asked him, concerned, trying to have a better look at him, but unable to as Jisung was nuzzled too closely.

“Let me stay like this for a moment,” Jisung told him, voice heavy.

“Of course,” Minho hugged him back. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Jisung couldn’t speak now, it was as if a painful lump blocked his vocal cords. So, they just stayed there in silence for a long moment.

“You’re ok, I’m here,” Minho comforted him softly when he understood that Han wasn’t ready to talk yet.

Jisung exhaled deeply, a sob breaking through his lips, and started crying. Minho’s grip around him tightened then, and even if it hurt Jisung, he didn’t mind at all. After a moment, Jisung finally calmed down and they separated, but they kept holding onto each other’s arms.

“Jisung… What happened? Why are you wearing a mask?” Minho asked, his voice and eyes filled with deep worry.

Jisung took off the mask, it was no use hiding it from Minho. Minho’s hand carefully cupped his cheek as soon as the mask was off. Minho’s worried eyes were fixed on his bruised cheek and cut lip for a moment before they met Jisung’s puffy and red eyes again.

“This…” Minho could barely contain the anger he felt in that moment. “Jisung, you need to tell someone. You need to get help!” He continued, clearly unsure of what to do exactly.

“It’s ok..”

“No, it’s not! What happened? Who did this to you? Are you hurt elsewhere?”

“My father… He was angry, he found out that I was with you on Saturday.”

“You told me it wasn’t your father…”

“My father punishes me when I misbehave or when my grades aren’t high enough. My private teacher punishes me when I don’t get the right answers during our lessons,” Jisung finally admitted.

It took a long moment before Minho could answer anything.

“This is abuse, Jisung…”

“I… I guess… But I’m the one messing up…”

“Stop blaming yourself!” Minho told him right away, annoyed. “You don’t deserve this, Jisung. You have to get help. You can’t let them treat you this way!”

It was so heartbreaking to see him like this. Lately, Minho had discovered a new awfully concerning side of Jisung’s life and personality. When he was with their group of friends, Jisung was always acting with so much confidence, energy and happiness… But it hid so much darkness, and even if Minho was glad that he was allowed to know about it and be there for Jisung through it all as he had promised, it pained him so much that Jisung had to face such things. Jisung deserved all the love and care in this world, not this, not the sadness, not the anxiety, not the tears and the pain…

It needed to stop.

“You have to report your father, Jisung,” Minho stated.

“No, I can’t.”

“Jisung, I’m serious, it’s bad. He has no right to hurt you like this!” Minho added, desperate to convince Jisung.

“But if I get help, it won’t be just my father that I’ll lose!” Jisung suddenly exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” Minho asked, taken aback by Jisung’s statement.

“I’ll probably be taken away and have to live with strangers. You said you would always be there for me, that I’ll never be alone as long as I have you, but what if they find me a home that’s far away? How will I be able to live without my friends? Without you?”

Minho remained silent for a moment, before he finally answered.

“Listen to me, your safety is what matters most, ok? We’ll find a solution after. We’ll find a way to see each other. We’ll talk on the phone or on Skype everyday if you want!” Minho tried.

Jisung let out a shaky laugh. Hearing Minho say this felt like it was worth all the riches of the world to him. But there was much more to all this.

“I’m not ready to take risks right now. I can still endure it, it’s just that it’s worse lately,” Jisung answered.

Minho let out a low growl as he closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth, clearly angry with Jisung’s stubbornness. It took him a moment to calm himself down before he spoke up again.

“I can’t report him for you… I can’t protect you from him…” Minho turned his eyes away as he continued. “I feel so useless…” He admitted, and his voice was heavy like Jisung had never heard it.

“No no no, don’t you dare feel this way because of me,” Jisung told him right away, hugging him again.

“It’s not because of you,” Minho mumbled, his face buried in Jisung’s shoulder.

“Doesn’t matter… What I mean is that I don’t want you to bear a useless burden. I promise I’ll get help when I’m ready or if things get too serious! For now, I’m just glad I can talk to someone. It really helps…” Jisung told him.

“I still wish I could do more.”

“You’re doing more than enough, I assure you. I haven’t told this to anyone ever…”

“Not even Chan?” Minho asked, surprised, still not breaking the hug though.

“No, not even Chan. Honestly, I almost told him once, but he already has so much on his hands with his university applications and leading the performing club. He barely sleeps already, imagine if he had to worry about me too!”

“I still think he would like to know… All our friends would, and maybe with all of us we could do something to help for real.”

“Like what? A group of highschool boys threatening him? That’s nothing to him.”

“I hate him…”

“Understandable,” Jisung scoffed.

They stayed like that again for a long time.

“Minho… Really, thank you,” Jisung finally broke the silence and in answer Minho hugged him a little tighter.

“Let’s get to school now, ok? Have you eaten breakfast yet? We could grab something on the way there!” Jisung offered, breaking the hug and putting his mask back on.

He took Minho’s hand and led him out of the park. He hated that he was worrying Minho so much, but it was also Minho who had insisted that he leaned on him. And honestly, Jisung really needed it. He needed Minho to care for him like he did, to be there for him like he had promised.

Jisung started talking about something else, bringing back his more cheerful and carefree personality, and Minho followed his lead. After this whole heavy conversation, they needed to go back to their usually lighter and happier conservations. Soon enough they were smiling and laughing together like usual. The others joined them as they made their way to the school and Jisung lied to them about the mask, saying he had a little cough, nothing serious.

The rest of the day went great, Jisung was as lively as ever…

And Minho was fooled into thinking that maybe he could trust that Jisung knew his own limits.

He was proven wrong during practice later. Everything was going well, but Jisung refused to take off his mask and hoodie, saying that it was part of his look, that his handsomeness depended on it. They had all practiced in hoodies before, so they didn’t insist too much, knowing that, if needed, he would just take it off. Hyunjin even joked about it, saying that the hoodie and mask did indeed make Jisung more handsome since they covered most of his face and body. Jisung had almost threw hands, but Chan had stopped them and told them to get started with the practice.

They were finishing their second time doing the choreography all over when Minho noticed that something wasn’t right. He didn’t have the time to really confirm his fears that he heard someone collapse to the ground behind him. They all stopped instantly and looked at said person.

His heart dropped when he saw Jisung’s unconscious form on the ground.

“Jisungie? Hey, Jisung, answer me!” Chan tried, slapping his face lightly. “Go get someone to help!” He yelled at Seungmin and Hyunjin who left right away. “He’s sweating buckets. Damn it, why didn’t he take off his hoodie?” Chan complained already trying to take it off.

Minho stopped him then, and Chan looked at him in confusion.

“Guys, can you wait outside, please?” Minho asked Changbin, Felix and Jeongin.

“What? Why?” Changbin asked, annoyed.

“You know how he always changes in the shower at school for P. E.?”

Minho didn’t have to say anything else, they all agreed wordlessly and exited the room.

“There’s more to it, right?” Chan asked, serious.

“Yes…” Minho admitted as he helped him take off Jisung’s hoodie, t-shirt and mask so he could cool down and breathe easier.

“What the…” Chan started as soon as he had a good look at the bruises littering Jisung’s torso and face.

Minho felt nauseous. It was bad… It was so much worse than what he had seen barely a week ago. Suddenly, Chan grabbed Minho’s collar and tugged on it, bringing him close to his face. There was so much anger in Chan’s eyes, Minho had never seen him like that, and for a moment Minho was truly afraid of him.

“Who did this to him?” Chan asked, and in an instant all anger was gone, replaced with despair.

“I’m sorry… I think he should tell you himself,” Minho answered him.

“Guys? What…” Jisung started, waking up under them.

Chan and Minho’s attention was brought back to him instantly. They saw his eyes widen as he noticed that he was shirtless. In a second, Jisung had snatched his t-shirt back from Chan’s hand and put it back on.

“You shouldn’t have seen that…” He mumbled.

“Jisung…” Chan started.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” He cut him.

“It’s here!” Hyunjin called then as he opened the door to the practice room.

Two members of the staff entered then. The others stayed outside and Changbin closed the door. Jisung was taken care of by the staff members for a long moment. They asked many questions, including questions about his bruised face and arms. He lied to them, saying he got into a fight at school. Minho and Chan stayed with Jisung, not wanting to leave his side, but there was an unbearable tension between them now. Chan was angry, but mostly extremely worried.

When Jisung could stand up again safely, they told him to go back home.

“I’ll take him home,” Minho offered.

“I can too,” Chan also offered.

“Jisung’s home is closer to mine,” Minho countered.

“It’s cute to see you fight for me,” Jisung teased them as he put his hoodie and mask back on, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Chan sighed in annoyance, but walked up to Jisung and hugged him.

“Alright, Minho takes you home,” Chan started, and then looked at Minho. “You better make sure to bring him home for real. I want you to see him enter his house,” he told him seriously, still hugging Jisung, and it felt like a father telling his kid’s date to bring them back before 10.

Minho couldn’t help but smile at that, despite the tense situation they were still in.

“I will, promise,” Minho agreed.

“And you…” His attention was back on Jisung. “You’ll tell me the truth, ok?”

Jisung remained silent for a long moment, before he agreed. Chan let go of Jisung and told him to take care of himself and rest. As soon as they opened the door to get out of the practice room, they were assaulted with questions from the others. Chan silenced them all right away and told them to let him go home. And just like that Jisung and Minho left.

They still stopped by the convenience store near the sport center, buying their usual drinks.

“You lied to me again…” Minho mumbled as they were walking slowly, taking their time enjoying each other’s presence and making sure that Jisung took it easy.

“Uh?”

“You said you’d stop if your body couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I… Yeah, I did. It’s just not that easy, you know? Practicing with you all is the best part of my day, I can’t give it up.”

“You don’t have to give it up! You just need to make sure you can actually enjoy it, even a little, without passing out. And preferably make it to the competition unhurt…”

“That probably won’t happen…” Jisung countered softly.

Now, Minho was angry. Not at Jisung necessarily, well maybe a bit for not having told them when he started feeling unwell earlier, but mainly at Jisung’s father and life for being so unfair.

They passed Minho’s street, and Jisung became tensed.

“My home… It’s pretty big, don’t be surprised.”

“It is?”

“Yeah… My father is the CEO of Han’s pharmaceutics.”

“Are you serious?! Their headquarter is the biggest building in the city!”

“Yup.”

“So… You’re like goddamn rich?” Minho asked.

“My father is… That’s why I said there’s nothing you can do against him. Nothing can threaten him or move him, he’s too powerful.”

Minho took Jisung’s hand instinctively. He would find a way to save him, no matter what.

“That’s my home,” Jisung announced and pointed down the road.

“What? No way… You said your house was pretty big, but this is… huge!”

Jisung’s house had two stories only, but was impressive in its width. The lot was surrounded by barriers and there was a gate and a paved path that led to the front door and the garage. The house was just gorgeous with big columns at the entrance, fresh cut grass and beautiful flowers surrounding it.

Honestly, it was unnecessarily big. Jisung didn’t even use most of the house, mainly because his father expected him to study all the time, so he didn’t dare use their indoor gym or pool, and stayed in his room most of the time.

“Wow…” Minho was amazed. Even Changbin who lived pretty well didn’t have such a beautiful and imposing house.

“It’s also pretty awesome inside,” Jisung added. “I-I’d like to show you someday, maybe.”

“You can invite me over anytime, as long as it doesn’t cause any trouble for you,” Minho answered, squeezing Jisung’s hand a bit.

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Jisung sighed and let go of Minho’s hand.

“Thanks for walking me home, see you tomorrow!”

“Rest well, see you tomorrow!”

Jisung took out a card from his pocket and passed it in front of a detector. The gate opened by itself right after and Jisung walked up to his front door. Minho stayed there, making sure, as he had promised Chan, that Jisung actually got inside his home before leaving. What Chan didn’t know though was that the real danger was inside’s Jisund’s home. Still, he called Chan right after to confirm that he had safely made it home.

He wanted to bring Jisung back, to never let him enter that home again. But he couldn’t do anything until Jisung actually wanted to get help.

And with that, he walked back home too with a longing feeling in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KEEP STREAMING GOD'S MENU FAM!!!!  
> Soon we'll hit 50M and I really won't stop streaming until they finally get their 100M! FIGHTING STAYS <3
> 
> I'm completely addicted to Basquiat by Pentagon <3 Also, Hui is a precious leader and I love him very much T_T I want him and Pentagon to have the recognition they deserve!


	10. Whipped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! Sorry for making you wait so much for every chapter of this fic :( 
> 
> I hope you'll like this one! 
> 
> PLEASE COMMENT <3
> 
> Thanks!!

Tuesday and Wednesday went better. Jisung’s father was too busy with work to really give any attention to Jisung. He still drank, but Jisung was able to avoid him well.

Even if the bruises were still fresh, his mood was up again. He spent time practicing with his friends any time they could. Chan kept watching over him and making sure he wouldn’t collapse again, understandably. Finally, their performance was almost ready. They even decided to actually do their street performance on Saturday, so it would give them the practice and experience they needed before the competition.

Jisung agreed right away with their choice, super excited to finally perform before a crowd, forgetting about all the risks that incurred.

It was Minho who brought it up after their practice ended on Wednesday.

“I can’t be a burden for the rest of the group, Minho. And I really want to do it. I’ll deal with my father if he finds out.”

Minho didn’t like how carefree Jisung was in this situation, as if he couldn’t see how terrible the bruises truly were. But again, what could he do if Jisung wasn’t ready to face reality? Nothing but be there for him.

“You’re annoying me. You’re not a burden… As I’ve said, you should tell the others. They would understand.” Minho still tried to convince Jisung, but of course, it was in vain.

“Maybe one day, but for now let’s keep this a secret between us,” Jisung winked at him, a light smile on his lips.

He hated how he loved seeing Jisung being more like himself, happy and untroubled, despite everything. He really truly wanted him to take things more seriously, be more afraid of the risks so he would be more careful or actually seek help, but Minho was also completely whipped for Jisung’s laugh and smile, and his cheerfulness even in the darkest moments.

He was too bright, and Minho was like a damn moth, getting completely bewitched by him, so much that he was also forgetting the darkness around.

-

When Jisung got home, his father wasn’t there. He was glad honestly. His father mostly worked from home a lot, but sometimes he had to go back to his office downtown or go on business trips. Being the CEO of his own pharmaceutical company made him pretty busy. Jisung looked at his phone and just then noticed that he had a message from his father.

**Dad: I’m on a business trip. I’ll be back on Tuesday. Study well.**

Jisung felt a heavy tension leave his body, relieved that he was alone, even if his father hadn’t been violent with him over the past three days. Still, he hated that he felt this way. He used to love his father, really, but things were complicated with him now. When his mother was still with them, she knew how to calm him down and show him the good side of things. Now that she was gone, it felt like Jisung’s father had completely been overtaken by negativity and anger.

He sighed went to the kitchen and took out one of the meals Sanghee had prepared for him. He loved her cooking, it was always tasty and full of care.

He wondered if he could actually cook too. As he munched on Sanghee’s meal, he went around the kitchen to look for something interesting to cook. When he found some chocolate muffin mix, he smiled brightly, took it out and looked at the instructions.

Did Minho like chocolate muffins?

He decided to give it a go and did as instructed on the package and put them in the oven. It had been easier than he thought! While waiting, he looked at his phone and found that he had many notifications.

**SKZ Group Chat:**

**Maknae: Jisung!**

**Aussi Boi: Jisung!**

**Baby Changbin: JISUNG!**

**Squirrel: WHAT?**

**Crispy: Did you make it home safely?**

**Squirrel: Yup! Seeing you all so concerned about me, I’d think you’re all crushing on me!**

**Dandy Boi: Ew, as if** **🤢**

**Lama Hyunjin: That’s only Minho** **😏**

**Bundles: Shut up, Hyunjin** **😑**

**Squirrel: Everyone is rejecting me!** 😭💔

**Baby Changbin: Maybe if you weren’t so blind…**

**Aussi Boi: He’s a lost cause…**

Jisung re-read Minho’s only answer. Somehow, he hated it… Did Jisung really had no chance with him?

Ah, what was he thinking!?

As if he could be more than friends with Minho…

Ok, he wasn’t really that dense that he could still deny his feelings, he was the one crushing hard on Minho. His heart always sped up when he thought of Minho as a possible boyfriend. Honestly, he was glad that they were so close already, that they had some skinship going on too, but he also wanted more. He wanted to know what telling him he loved him freely was like, what his lips tasted like, what touching him in more personal places felt like…

He felt his face become hot with embarrassment, a bright blush covering his face and ears completely.

“AH! NO! BAD JISUNG!” He screamed at himself, covering his face with his hands.

In the end, with his daydreaming, he barely saved the muffins from being burned. Fortunately, they still came out pretty decent, and the taste wasn’t bad, so he was glad.

He would give them to his friends… but the one with the most chocolate chips would be for Minho.

The next day, he stopped by the convenience store near the school and bought himself a coffee milk and a strawberry milk for Minho too.

He had a bit of trouble studying since his mind kept thinking about Minho. He was cringing at his own thoughts too, but it was out of his control now, he was quickly getting super whipped for him.

As soon as Minho arrived, Jisung gave him the muffin and the milk. Minho thanked him and smiled brightly, asking him what the occasion was.

“Thank you for bringing me home every day. Also… My father is on a business trip until Tuesday, so you don’t have to worry about Saturday’s street performance,” Jisung informed him.

Minho felt a weight he didn’t know he was carrying being lifted from his shoulders. Jisung’s father was away, so that meant Jisung would be safe for the next couple of days.

“Ah, now that I think about it, you could come over at my house this weekend,” Jisung added hesitantly. “That’s only if you want to…”

Minho’s heart felt like it was about to fly right out of his chest. Already, he felt blessed to have received a muffin and a strawberry milk from him… Was Jisung inviting him over for real? Was he also blushing? Oh, damn…

“Y-yes! Of course, I want!” He cursed himself internally, that was too hyped.

“Awesome!” Jisung answered back, as hyped as him. “You could come after the street performance?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind, whenever you want,” Minho agreed.

He wanted to hit himself, he sounded desperate. What the hell Minho? Where’s the “cool you”??

“Great!” Jisung answered back, looking unbothered by Minho’s unusual attitude.

“Ah, you two are in a good mood today!” Changbin said, joining them with Felix. “Oh, did your mom make those?” He asked Minho.

“It’s Jisung,” Minho replied.

Jisung took out the other muffins and offered them to his friends who looked like he had given them the moon.

“Woah! Wait… You didn’t poison them, right?” Changbin joked.

“Do you want me to take your muffin back?!” Jisung asked, offended.

Changbin ran away with the muffin and Felix thanked Jisung before following Changbin, still amused by the latter’s antics.

“I gave you the one with the most chocolate chips,” Jisung informed him.

“Really? Thanks,” Minho replied, feeling a comfortable warmth settle in his chest.

Ah… He was totally whipped for Han Jisung.

-

“Guys… Bad news again,” Chan announced, joining them for lunch. “We still haven’t received any sponsor form yet. Nobody contacted me either. I tried to call some places that seemed interested, but they say they are already sponsoring other clubs. Looks like we searched for sponsors too late…”

“We still have the competition though! And if we do a great street performance, maybe it’ll encourage people to sponsor us?” Jisung said, trying to look at the positive side.

“Yeah, we’ve still got time! We’ll practice harder and I’m sure we’ll be awesome during the street performance and the competition!” Felix added.

“Alright, fighting!” Chan cheered.

They all laughed, but despite the encouraging words, they felt even more anxious for the upcoming performances. There was a lot at stake.

Would they keep hanging out if the club closed? Or would they join other clubs?

Would they keep being friends? They were in different classes, and even if they had the same passion for dancing and music, would the unwritten highschool clique rules finally apply to them?

Seungmin would surely end up spending more time with the more studious students. Hyunjin would hang out with the cool kids. Changbin and Chan would surely still keep on producing music, Han would probably hang out with them too when he wouldn’t be studying. Felix would most likely end up with the gamer gang or something like that. I.N was friend with pretty much everyone, so he wouldn’t be lonely.

And Minho… Minho was not as sociable as the others. He was outgoing, but only with the people he really trusted and felt comfortable with, and beside the Performance club, he didn’t have other friends.

Would he end up alone?

Would he lose Jisung too?

He was scared…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I barely have time to financially get back from Stray Kids' last comeback that September's comeback is announced T-T Well, I am still going to buy so many albums because I love them so much XD RIP my savings!


	11. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> I hope you'll like this very soft chapter ^.^ 
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT <3
> 
> Thanks!!

The street performance was honestly a bit of a mess. Jisung and Changbin dropped their mics, Minho stuttered during his part, Jeongin had trouble with his breath during his part, Chan kept worrying about the others and not focusing enough on himself, and Hyunjin’s rap didn’t come out as clean as he had practiced it… Still, people cheered on them and they were really happy that so many people stopped to watch them perform and seemed to like it so much.

“Thank you for watching our performance today! We are currently looking for sponsors. If you are interested, you can fill the form and send it back to us via the contact info on the form! Thank you again!” Chan said as the others went around to give sponsor forms.

They surprisingly ran out of forms in the end, but it was a really good thing. Chan treated them to dinner after that. The energy and happiness that they shared was incredible. Jisung would never forget this incredible day.

After that, they all went to their own places, and Minho and Jisung went to Jisung’s house.

As expected, Minho was also amazed by the inside of Jisung’s house. Everything looked expensive and very well furnished.

Jisung showed him around the house. They went to his room last and Jisung let himself fall on his bed.

Jisung’s room was way too clean to Minho’s liking. It didn’t feel like his. It lacked personality. He had expected to see posters on the walls and a bit of a mess all around, not this out-of-a-magazine room. It was probably like that because of his dad’s perfectionism…

Minho looked around a bit before also letting himself fall on Jisung’s bed. It felt like he was lying on a literal cloud.

“It was awesome!” Jisung exclaimed suddenly, lifting his arms and legs up, and Minho laughed at that. Then, Jisung turned around to look at Minho. He extended his had and gently took a strand of Minho’s now greasy hair in his fingers.

Minho felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. Gosh, Jisung could be lethal to his heart…

And then Jisung grimaced, making Minho feel suddenly upset.

“Yup, we both need a shower! Do you want to take one first?” Jisung asked him.

“Uhm, yeah?” Minho agreed, taking the strand of hair that Jisung had just let go of to also feel its greasiness. Yup, he was indeed in need of a shower.

Jisung gave him a clean towel and showed him how the shower worked and which products to use. He was done very quickly. He didn’t want to waste time in the shower when he could spend time with Jisung.

As soon as he went back to the room, Jisung left to take a shower too. While waiting for him, Minho looked around Jisung’s room. His room was probably triple the size of Minho’s. He had a queen-size bed in the right corner. Next to it was a bedside table, and about two metres away, in front of a window, there was a large desk with a clearly expensive computer on it. The left wall had a big closet, and its sliding door was made out of mirror. The walls had neutral colors. Minho sat on Jisung’s bed and looked at the only thing that actually seemed to be Jisung’s in this room. There was the picture of a woman on Jisung’s bedside table. She looked like him, so he instantly knew that it was Jisung’s mother. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he knew she wasn’t around anymore.

“That’s my mother,” Jisung confirmed as soon as he walked in and noticed the picture in Minho’s hands.

“You don’t talk about her a lot,” Minho commented.

“Well… That’s because she left us two years ago. She was here one night, and when I woke up the next day she was gone. She left a note apologizing for leaving us, but yeah… She never came back. My father was so angry at her that he never tried to get her back…”

Minho was angry at Jisung’s mother now. She should’ve taken Jisung with her. Why did she leave him behind with his father? But then Jisung continued…

“I think… I think at that time she was probably going through the same thing as me, but I didn’t know. She probably couldn’t take it anymore and left. Before she left, my father wasn’t as violent with me as he is now. So, I just figured she was protecting me in some way. My father didn’t drink as much either. Every bad thing between my dad and I really happened after my mother left. He blames me for all his problems, including my mother leaving.”

“What an asshole,” Minho grumbled.

“Yeah… Honestly, he says that he wants me to excel in school because having a successful career is what’s most important in life, but I feel he just wants to make me unhappy. Like he wants to make sure I end up more miserable than he is.”

Jisung was opening up to Minho, and it felt nice. He had never said so much about his situation to him. Minho felt really lucky that Jisung was confiding in him. He reached out to Jisung’s hand. It was a common thing lately. It just felt right to hold his hand, especially when he wanted Jisung to remember that he was there for him.

“Ok, let’s do something else!” Jisung decided. “We can watch a movie if you want?”

Minho agreed right away and let Jisung chose the movie. They watched it on the huge screen in the living room. Jisung provided with tons of pillows and blankets, making sure they were both super comfortable on the gigantic couch. At some point, they ended up leaning on each other. Jisung was the first one to fall asleep, snoring lightly on Minho’s shoulder. Minho fell asleep as well soon after. When he woke up again later, just as the film ended, Minho found that he was now lying on his back, Jisung over him with one of his hands clutching onto his shirt. Minho felt suddenly incredibly hot, he wouldn’t be surprise if he was as red as a tomato in that moment, but he was also so incredibly happy and didn’t want to move. It felt like a dream, and he truly hoped it wasn’t. He looked at Jisung’s cute sleepy face and caressed his hair, enjoying the moment. He didn’t know if he would be able to live another moment like this ever, so he made sure it was engraved in his memory.

“I love you, Han Jisung,” he murmured, before he embraced him in his arms and fell asleep again.

The next morning, Minho woke up to the smell of pancakes… or more specifically, burning pancakes. He groggily stood up, stretched and walked to the kitchen were Jisung was cursing quietly.

“I messed up again,” he groaned, putting the burned pancake in the trash.

“Do you need help? I’m not the best cook either, but I think the stove is too hot,” Minho told him and Jisung jumped at the unexpected presence, turning around swiftly, holding the pan as if to hit the sudden intruder.

“Don’t scare me like that!” He screamed, offended to have been startled.

“You’re way too easily scared,” Minho laughed.

“Says the guys who has a cardiac arrest every time a balloon explodes.”

“That’s an exception!” Minho countered. “Anyway, let me help.”

Minho turned down the stove’s heat a bit and took the pan from Jisung’s hands, starting to make the pancakes in his stead. Jisung looked unhappy until Minho gave him a bite of one of the pancakes he made.

“Oh, tasty!” Jisung commented, his mood being already back up.

Soon after, they were eating huge plates of pancakes together while watching a show in the living room.

“You slept well?” Jisung asked at some point.

“Y-yeah,” Minho answered, remembering how they had fallen asleep the night before. “You?”

“Haven’t slept so well in years,” Jisung admitted.

“We should sleep together more often then,” Minho offered without thinking, it processed into his mind seconds later, just as Jisung was choking on a pancake. “Omg, are you ok? I didn’t mean to sound weird! Ah, shit sorry!” Minho felt like a fucking idiot. Way to go…

“Don’t say stuff like that! It… It could give me false hope, you know,” Jisung mumbled, standing up and taking his almost empty plate to the kitchen.

Minho stood up right away and followed him, Jisung’s words repeating themselves in Minho’s head for a moment before they actually registered.

“Jisung…” Minho started, putting his plate on the counter, just beside Jisung’s. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, it’s stupid, forget it!” Jisung replied, but Minho couldn’t, so instead he walked closer to Jisung.

“Do you…” Minho started, lifting up his hand to cup Jisung’s cheek. Jisung didn’t move away and their eyes met, and both their breaths itched. “Do you mind if…”

_DING DONG!_

They were harshly taken back to reality when they heard the doorbell ring.

“Oh, shit! I forgot!” Jisung yelled, suddenly taking Minho’s wrist and quickly leading him up the stairs to his room. “I have lessons with Professor Byeon on Sundays now! You have to go! If he sees you, he’s going to tell my father, and I’ll be in huge trouble!” Jisung panicked, giving Minho his stuff and looking around until he went to the window and opened it. He looked outside for a moment before his attention was back to Minho.

“You can get down from here.”

“Wait you want me to leave by the window?” Minho asked, hoping this was a joke.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Jisung answered with a grimace. “Oh, here, take this, or else you won’t be able to leave,” he added handing a card to him, similar to the one Jisung had used to open the gates the night before.

“You’re really something else, Han Jisung,” Minho scoffed.

“Thank you for coming,” Jisung told him, kissing his cheek just before leaving his room.

Minho stayed shocked for a moment. Jisung had kissed him on the cheek… Woah…

But then he heard the front door close, and he knew he had to hurry.

It was actually easier to get down from there than he thought, since there were columns and window borders just in the right places.

He left, using the card to open the gates. He felt on cloud nine despite how he had been kicked out of Jisung’s house.

Jisung had kissed him on the cheek…

This wasn’t a dream, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last week just felt like a nightmare.. One of my pets, a baby rat of only 4 months, died unexpectedly even if I went to the vet and paid 500$ to save her.. And now the thing with Woojin and all the realted triggering content on social media... Let's just say that I hope things get better quickly :'( 
> 
> On another note, I'm so excited for Skz's comeback! I have a feeling that "B Me" has the potential to become my favourite Skz song <3 (Right now, it's "Hellevator")
> 
> What song are you most excited for? ^.^


	12. Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers! 
> 
> I added a tag (attempted rape/non-con), and this chapter is about that. You can skip the part if it is triggering (I'll indicate it with *** at the start and ||| at the end)!
> 
> Please leave a comment <3
> 
> Thanks!

“Look at yourself? What a disgrace! You’re still in your pyjama, even though you knew I was coming.”

“Sorry, Professor Byeon. I forgot,” Jisung apologised immediately, looking at the ground with embarrassment.

“Useless child,” he added before walking up the stairs, Jisung quickly following him.

Jisung felt incredibly uncomfortable being this lightly clothed, only wearing small shorts and a large t-shirt in the presence of Professor Byeon. It wasn’t like when he was with Minho, they were close and he felt safe with him, so it was ok, but it was a totally different story with this man. He was amongst the people Jisung hated most.

Professor Byeon entered Jisung’s room like usual. Jisung knew that Professor Byeon intended to start the lesson right away…

“Ah, uhm… Can I please change first?” He dared ask.

“No. Don’t waste my time,” came the sharp answer.

Jisung felt so awful, he hated it. Their lesson started and soon enough Professor Byeon had his baton out. Jisung just couldn’t answer any of Professor Byeon’s questions, he hadn’t studied and, even if he had, there was no way he could have answered them right, they were too precise, he wasn’t even sure he had learned all the information he was requested to give.

“Wrong.”

Another hit.

Jisung tried to give another answer, but before he could even finish his sentence he was hit again, even harder. Jisung tried to contain his tears but it hurt so much.

“Answer!” Professor Byeon requested.

Jisung opened his mouth and saw Professor Byeon lift his baton even higher in his peripheric.

Instinctively, Jisung tried to escape it, but it still hit his arm and a cry escaped his mouth as he fell down his chair. Professor Byeon lifted his baton again.

“P-please stop!” Jisung exclaimed, frightened, trying to protect himself with his arms.

When he heard nothing and no more hits struck, Jisung slowly removed his arms covering his face to look at Professor Byeon, but that was a mistake. As soon as he had uncovered enough of his face, he felt the baton connect with his cheek.

Jisung remained shocked for a long moment, it was the first time Professor Byeon had hit his face. Before he could recover from the shock, Professor Byeon lifted his baton again.

“Beg me to stop again.” Professor Byeon ordered, his tone abnormally low and dangerous.

“I…” Jisung was troubled, he didn’t know what to say. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, and he was scared.

“BEG ME!” Professor Byeon roared and started hitting Jisung with the baton relentlessly.

“Please stop! Please!” Jisung yelled, afraid and hurting, desperately protecting his face from any more hits.

The hit stopped.

“Good boy,” Professor Byeon said, and it sent shivers down Jisung’s spine who looked up at him with fearful eyes.

***

Professor Byeon was disheveled and had a creepy smile on his lips. It screamed life-threatening danger. Before Jisung could even think of doing anything to escape whatever Professor Byeon intended to do to him, the man was on him, pushing him harshly to the floor, a hand on Jisung’s neck while the other settled solidly on his hip as he manhandled him so he was right where he wanted under him. Jisung tried to push him away, to kick him, but it was no use. Professor Byeon was too strong and too big for him, and Jisung was too weak. His heart was beating hardly in his chest as he panicked.

“Don’t touch me! Let go! HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!” Jisung screamed as loudly as he could with the hand gripping his neck.

“You’re alone with me in this house, and even if your father was here, he wouldn’t even care,” Professor Byeon laughed crazily. “Scream all you want, don’t hold back, it turns me on.”

Jisung felt like he couldn’t breathe, like this was a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from, no matter how hard he tried or how loud he screamed. Professor Byeon’s hand wandered under his shirt, and it made him even more distressed. A heavy desperate sob escaped his lips.

“Please, stop!” Jisung cried, vainly trying to push away the man on top of him. “Help! Please, someone! Help me!”

Professor Byeon’s hand went down and grabbed his butt. And then he started grinding against Jisung and oh gosh… Jisung could feel the man’s hard member. He felt like throwing up… Professor Byeon leaned down and started kissing him. It was like Jisung had suddenly lost a part of him. This was his first kiss… Jisung could only cry louder and vainly struggle harder. He didn’t want it. He was scared, so deeply terrified. He wanted him off! He wanted him to disappear! He would take any of his father’s beatings! He wouldn’t mind spending days locked in the basement instead! Anything but this!

_|||_

_Bang!_

They both stopped moving. Someone had entered the house. Jisung was about to scream for help again, but Professor Byeon covered his mouth right away.

“If you scream, I’ll tell your father about that friend you walk home with everyday.” Jisung’s eyes widened. Did he mean Minho? “Yeah, I saw you two together, even holding hands, and I know how your father would love to know about him. So, don’t you dare make a sound.”

Jisung let a few tears fall before he nodded quickly, defeated.

Professor Byeon took his time taking his hand off Jisung’s mouth and getting back up. As soon as he could, Jisung cowered between his desk and bedside table, bringing his knees up to his chest and covering his head with his arms to protect himself. Professor Byeon made sure that he looked presentable again before taking his things and leaving the room.

“Madam Sanghee,” Jisung heard him greet her simply downstairs.

“Professor Byeon,” she greeted him back.

More tears fell down Jisung’s eyes, those of relief. He had never been so happy that Sanghee was here.

Jisung waited until he heard the front door close before he moved. He wobbled on shaky legs and looked at himself in the mirror. He was miserable, he hated it, he hated how awfully unfair life was to him!

“Jisung?” He heard Sanghee call him from downstairs.

He quickly dressed up, putting jeans, a dark hoodie, a mask and a cap, before he left his room. Sanghee was just reaching it, probably coming to check up on him.

“Jisung! Are you ok?” She asked right away, clearly worried.

“Hi, Madam Sanghee. Sorry I made a mess in the living room…” He told her, doing his best to sound like his usual self. But it wasn’t good enough…

“Jisung…” She started, looking even more concerned.

“S-sorry, I’ll go now…” he excused himself, and left before she could say anything else.

As soon as he was out, tears started to fall down his face again.

He called Minho then… He needed him more than ever.

“Jisung? Is everything ok?” Minho asked right away as he answered.

Jisung hated that he could feel the concern in Minho’s voice before he had even said anything.

“No…” Jisung admitted with a sob. “Meet me at the park, please?”

“I’ll be right there!” Minho agreed right away.

Minho was there before Jisung even arrived, at their usual spot under this tree that they liked to sit under. He looked anxious, and Jisung knew it was his fault. For once though, he really needed to be selfish and lean on Minho.

Jisung’s legs started to become weak as he reached Minho and he found himself on his knees crying buckets before he could actually get to him. Minho was there in seconds though, hugging him tightly.

“Jisung… What happened?” Minho asked.

“I was so scared…” He sobbed holding onto Minho’s shirt.

“It’s ok, I’m here, nothing can hurt you anymore.”

“Professor Byeon…”

Minho’s grip on Jisung became a little tighter, but Jisung didn’t mind even if it pressed on the bruises covering his body. He wanted Minho to hold him tightly in this moment, to feel as close to him as possible, because… to him Minho meant safety.

“He… He… He pushed me down, and…” Jisung was hardly able to say anything through the heavy sobs racking his body.

“What? What did he do?”

Minho felt like this was a nightmare. He was terrified to hear the rest.

“Minho… He-he tried to rape me,” Jisung told him before letting out a wail. “I was so scared… I screamed for help, but there was nobody…”

Minho couldn’t move or say anything for a long moment, completely frozen in dread. The boy he loved had almost…

“I’m gonna kill him,” Minho finally let out, standing up suddenly.

Jisung grabbed his hand before he could move farther away from him.

“No, stay with me…” Jisung pleaded. “You don’t even know who he is or what he’s capable of!”

Jisung was right, but he still needed to get off the unbearably heavy anger he felt inside of him. Minho was not a very emotional person and he usually contained his emotions well, but right now, it was out of his control, taking a hold of him like he had never felt before. He turned to the closest tree, let out a furious scream and hit it a couple of times, a raging roar escaping his lips. It hurt and it barely helped against the anger he felt, but it still allowed him to let out some steam and made him focus back on reality.

He closed his eyes as thoughts filled his head… He had been there, in Jisung’s house, barely a few hours ago, and then he had left him alone with that monster… Minho was also angry at himself now, but truly, he knew he was useless anyway… Jisung was in danger, and yet he couldn’t do anything against it, he had frustratingly been reminded of that a lot lately. Even if he had insisted on staying to try to protect Jisung, he would still have been thrown out of the house by Jisung.

Jisung was still a crying mess on the ground near him, so Minho went back to hug him. He whispered sweet reassuring words to him.

After a moment, Jisung finally calmed down.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, still huddled up in Minho’s embrace.

“I wish I could do more… You really need to get help, Jisung. I’m scared for you, but I can’t do anything as long as you keep on returning under that roof and refusing to do anything against all that’s happening to you,” Minho said to him, barely able to conceal his anger at the situation.

Jisung didn’t answer anything for a long moment.

“Can I sleep at your house tonight? I don’t want to go back home.”

“Of course, my mom will agree for sure!”

“Thanks… It looks painful.” Jisung gently took Minho’s hurt hand in his.

Oh, he hadn’t realised he was bleeding.

“It’s not that painful…”

“Don’t give me that. You full-on punched a tree with your bare fist,” Jisung pointed out, not believing Minho at all. “Let’s go to your place and get you patched up, ok?”

Minho scoffed and stood up, admitting defeat, because yeah, it did hurt like hell. They made their way to Minho’s home. They held hands as they walked, and Jisung was particularly clingy, but Minho really didn’t mind. Jisung was still affected by what had happened earlier, and he would certainly be for a long time. No matter what, Minho would always be there for him, helping him the best he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I have had a couple of rough days...
> 
> I hope you are all doing good though <3 Let me know in the comments, what good thing happened to you lately?
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


	13. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi dear readers!!
> 
> I got some motivation to post this chapter sooner because of the comments I got in the last week. Thank you so much for that <3 I hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> Please leave a comment ^.^
> 
> Thanks!!

“Is he ok?” Minho’s mom asked, as soon as her son got back down from his room on the second floor.

“I don’t know… Mom, I don’t know what to do to help him,” Minho admitted. “He has it really bad, and I don’t know how to help.”

“What’s happening to him?” She asked him, concerned. “Did he get into a fight at home?”

“I can’t tell you. He doesn’t want me to tell anybody.”

“Well… Then, the best you can do is be there for him.”

“I know that, but still… It hurts to see him hurt, you know,” he said.

“Come here,” she invited him, her arms open for a hug.

He gladly accepted the invitation and let his mom comfort him for a moment.

“He can stay here for as long as he wants, even if I don’t like that you two sleep in the same room. You are both teenagers, with new needs and…”

“Mom! I told you, it’s just so he’s not alone tonight,” Minho countered, not wanting his mother to have any strange ideas.

Strange ideas… They weren’t that strange anymore, were they?

“Anyway, let him know that our home is always open to him.”

It was clear to Minho that he had her guesses about what was going on, and that it wasn’t just a quarrel with his father.

“Thanks mom…”

With that, he broke the hug and went back to his room where Jisung was already asleep on his bed, listening to Minho’s playlist, his back facing him. Minho climbed on his bed and hugged Jisung from behind. It reassured Minho to know that Jisung was here, in his arms, away from anything that could hurt him anymore.

He fell asleep like that, still anxious, but comforted by Jisung’s presence.

-

Jisung woke up in the middle of the night, panicked, panting as if he had run a marathon. He had a nightmare that felt too real, a replay of the afternoon he had spent with Professor Byeon, but this time his father was watching, not doing a thing to help when Jisung begged him. Jisung looked around him, trying to ground himself, and then he lifted his head a bit and his eyes fell on Minho’s peaceful sleeping face. The steadiness of his breathing and his arms around him calmed him down instantly.

He was safe, Minho was here…

He cuddled even closer to him, letting his head rest under Minho’s chin, revelling in his sent and warmth. Jisung then looked up again. Their faces were not even centimetres apart. Jisung’s heartbeat picked up then as he felt Minho’s hot breath caress his skin.

“I think… I think I’m in love with you, Lee Minho,” Jisung whispered.

And then he went back to his position, nuzzled against Minho’s neck.

He fell back asleep, feeling safe and contented. He might not be able to ever say it out loud, but at least he said it to him once.

-

“Jisung, can we talk?” Chan asked, as he joined Minho and Jisung while they were walking to school.

Jisung felt anxiety rise inside of him and Minho noticed it right away.

“Chan, maybe some other time?” Minho offered.

“I’ve already been pretty patient, I think, but now… I need an explanation,” Chan retorted.

“Doesn’t mean it’s easier for him to talk about it.”

“I just want to help,” Chan sighed.

“Chan… I’m not feeling super good today. Can we talk about it another day?” Jisung asked.

Chan’s eyes fixed his neck and Jisung instinctively tried to lift up his hood so it would cover the bruises that colored it.

Chan then collapsed on his knees in front of Jisung, surprising his two friends.

“Tell me… Did you get those bruises at home?”

Jisung didn’t reply, but the silence was enough of an answer.

“I-I… We’ve been friends for two years, and I was stupid enough to think that you were just a clutch all this time,” Chan mumbled.

Instantly, Minho and Jisung both kneeled down as well and hugged him. Chan hugged them back and let a few tears fall.

“Is there anything I can do to help at least?” Chan offered.

“You’re doing enough, just being my friend,” Jisung answered.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s enough… You’re still getting hurt,” Chan told him.

“That’s on me,” Jisung answered.

And even if Chan tried to protest right away, Minho couldn’t deny it. Despite the fact that Jisung wasn’t to blame for being hit, he was still the one who refused to act against it. No one else could do it in his stead right now, not with how clean and perfect everything looked from the outside. If Jisung wasn’t ready to confess about the abuse, then there was nothing they could do. Still, Minho would do anything for him…

“We’ll find a way to help for real,” Minho told him then. “You’re not alone, Jisung. We’re here with you, and even if you’re not ready to get help, I will still try my hardest to find a solution, and I’m sure Chan will too.”

“Of course, I will! You’re one of my best friends, Jisung. We’ll find a way to make you stop being hurt.”

“Thank you,” Jisung told them, warmth and comfort filling his chest.

They didn’t want them to get in trouble or make things worse, but he believed that Minho knew that and that Chan would follow Minho’s lead since he knew more.

-

The others looked worried every time their eyes fell on Jisung that day. He was as energetic as ever, trying to fool them into thinking that he was just fine, but he looked as bad as the last Monday. And they had been so scared for him on that day, the awful memory of seeing him pass out during practice was still fresh to them. They would’ve liked if he explained things truthfully instead of trying to hide what was going on, but Chan and Minho told them that they were already aware of the truth and that they would watch over him. It didn’t reassure them much, not that they didn’t trust their friends, but more because they were still in the dark and didn’t know how bad Jisung’s situation truly was.

That day at the Performance club, during the dance practice part, Chan told Jisung to step aside again, and he didn’t protest, even if he looked grumpy the whole time. He wasn’t as hurt and weak as the last Monday, but he knew that it was useless to try to convince Chan, he would simply not accept.

Honestly, they didn’t like that Jisung had to step aside less than a week before the competition, which was on Saturday. They still needed to practice as much as they could. But Jisung’s health was more important…

-

“Are you going home tonight?” Chan asked Jisung as he walked with him and Minho, the others having left along the way.

“I’ll stay at Minho’s house tonight,” Jisung answered.

“That’s good,” Chan said, smiling at Minho gratefully.

“My mother said he could stay over as long as he needed,” Minho reassured Chan, but Jisung had other plans.

“I’ll be going home tomorrow though,” Jisung admitted, making them all stop in their tracks.

“Are you sure?” Chan asked.

“My father comes back home tomorrow and… and I have a lesson with Professor Byeon,” Jisung admitted.

Chan was confused. He didn’t know his father was gone, and he didn’t know Jisung had private lessons. But what truly worried him was how angry and tensed Minho suddenly became when Jisung mentioned the professor, and how Jisung’s whole body started shaking, clearly afraid of that man. Minho took both of Jisung’s hands tightly and searched Jisung’s eyes.

“Don’t. Please don’t go back. I’ll do anything, anything at all, but don’t go back there,” Minho pleaded.

Minho’s reaction was deeply unnerving. If he pleaded that way, it was because something awful had to have happened with Professor Byeon. He was probably the reason Jisung was hurt again and was staying at Minho’s house.

But Chan was also surprised… For all the times their group of friends had teased the both of them about crushing on each other, Chan was amazed at how shallow they had been. This… The way they looked at each other, the tender way they held hands, the deep care in Minho’s voice… This was love, pure unfiltered love. It made him soft and happy for them for a small moment, despite the situation. They might not be ready to confess yet, but Chan wasn’t worried for them if they ever became a couple. Right now, it looked like Jisung was the one leaning on Minho, but it was clear that Jisung would gladly support him if Minho needed it.

It was a beautiful sight despite everything.

Still… Jisung’s situation needed to be resolved…

“I don’t want you near that man ever again…” Minho added, and Chan could hear the deep anger Minho was hardly trying to contain.

It confirmed Chan’s fears. To make Minho that angry, this man must have been the one giving Jisung those new bruises.

“I… I’m sorry, I can’t…” Jisung answered, looking away.

Minho hugged him then. There were still too much hidden from Chan, but at least Jisung had someone to lean on.

“Alright, let’s talk about something else for now,” Minho said, ruffling Han’s hair.

“What are you… No! My perfect hair! My look is ruined because of you!” Jisung complained, making Minho and Chan giggle.

Ah, Chan felt like a third wheel now…

“Wow, you guys really got close lately, uh?” Chan commented, and at that Minho and Han suddenly stepped farther from each other, embarrassed. “Oh, don’t react this way! It’s ok! It’s nice to see you like that!” Chan told them right away.

“Ah, y-yeah… We’re closer, I guess?” Minho agreed, scratching the back of his head.

“He’s gotten a bit clingy, right?” Jisung commented, falsely trying to be subtle, and clearly wanting to annoy Minho.

“You…” Minho said menacingly as he started walking toward Jisung who screamed and quickly hid behind Chan.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Jisung tried.

Chan laughed at that. The atmosphere and conversation had been so heavy minutes ago, and now they were back to their lighter selves. Even if Chan’s heart was still anxious, he was glad to see them both smile and laugh together. He grabbed them both and started walking again.

“Alright, lovebirds, let’s get back home now, my mother made my favourite for dinner and I wouldn’t want to be late for that!” Chan decided then, resuming their walk back home.

-

Minho joined Jisung in his room after dinner, bringing a piece of cheese cake for the both of them to share and some ointment for his bruises, at his mother’s demand.

Jisung was startled when Minho walked in on him shirtless, but as soon as he saw that it was Minho, he calmed down instantly. He was ok, he was safe...

Minho actually hadn’t seen the full extent of Jisung’s new bruises, only the ones on his face and neck. So, when he walked in on Jisung changing into his pyjama, his heart dropped at the sight of the fresh blue and red marks that covered his body. It wasn’t as bad as a week ago, but still…

Minho put down the piece of cake and forks he had brought on his computer desk and walked up to Jisung whose back was facing as he fumbled with the pyjama shirt Minho had given him, trying to find the right way to put it on.

“Don’t put it on yet,” Minho requested.

Minho softly passed his fingertips covered in ointment over the upsetting marks on his back and Jisung shivered, but didn’t reject the touch. Minho’s hand traveled to each blueish cloud painting his back and ribs, caressing them with ointment, wishing to make them disappear, and hoping it would appease the pain Jisung felt.

“Minho…” Jisung murmured shakily, turning around to face him.

“Yes?” Minho asked, voice as unsteady, suddenly realising how close they were and how intimate what he had been doing was. But he was too entranced in the moment...

Seeing Jisung shirtless, blushing and openly vulnerable right in front of him, looking at him with as much nervousness and expectation as Minho felt… So close that he could sense the other’s warmth emanating from him…

Minho thought he would go insane with the intense infatuation he felt for Jisung in that moment.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” Jisung started, but honestly, Minho didn’t really want to talk right now.

“Mhm?”

Minho took a small step closer, his heart beating fast in his chest as a pleasant warmth spread all over his body the closer he got to Jisung. The latter didn’t move away, and his eyes glanced at Minho’s lips…

This was it, Minho couldn’t stand it anymore…

“I…” Jisung didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Minho leaned forward and kissed him softly.

Jisung melted into the kiss. It wasn’t perfect, their lips met clumsily, but it was still wonderful. Jisung’s heart felt like it was about to explode with joy. Minho actually kissed him? He wondered for a moment if he was really experiencing this or if it was a product of his imagination, but when Minho’s hands softly settled on each side of Jisung’s face, making him shiver at the gentle contact, he knew it was real. His own hand cupped one of Minho’s and then they broke the kiss, breathing in the same space and looking tenderly at each other for a small moment.

“I-I love you, Han Jisung,” Minho stuttered, flustered.

“I love you too, Lee Minho,” Jisung answered back, with a bright smile and a soft laugh, hardly containing the exhilaration overtaking him.

And then, without hesitation, they kissed again. Minho put one of his hands on Jisung’s lower back and Jisung let go of the pyjama shirt to take Minho’s face in his hands, deepening the kiss. Jisung stumbled back a bit, until his legs hit the side of the bed and suddenly he was falling backwards, bringing Minho with him. Their kiss was broken for a moment, but Minho quickly settled over him and their lips met again. Then, Minho took one of Jisung’s hands and interlaced their fingers as they kept on kissing, completely intoxicated with each other’s lips and closeness.

Minho and Jisung both felt as if they were the luckiest boys alive in this moment, knowing that they shared the same feelings, the same love. When they broke the kiss again, panting and flushed, Minho’s eyes wandered all over Jisung’s exposed chest. He didn’t see the bruises in that moment, but instead looked at his body as he would look at a wonderful piece of art.

Minho’s free hand made its way over Jisung’s chest, caressing it and when Jisung let out an embarrassing moan, he knew he was doomed.

“Minho… This…” Jisung started, but was cut off by Minho’s hungry kiss.

He let himself lean closer onto Jisung and kissed his neck. For a moment, he forgot that they had just confessed. He was too captivated by the growing warmth inside of him and the love and attraction he could fully express to think clearly.

He also forgot that despite Jisung’s feelings, he was probably going too fast…

So, he was momentarily taken aback when Jisung suddenly pushed him away, his breath suddenly coming in short and breathless, and looking at him with alarm in his eyes.

Minho hated himself when he realised what he had done. He felt stupid… Jisung had almost… He had almost been raped the day before and Minho had just let his own desires control him, not thinking that maybe Jisung wasn’t comfortable or even ready to get that far.

Shit, they had just confessed and he had already messed up!

“Hey, hey,” Jisung’s hand cupped Minho’s face. “It’s ok, it’s not your fault,” Jisung reassured him, seeing the fearful expression settle quickly on Minho’s features. “I… I thought I’d be ok, but…”

“I’m sorry…” Minho stuttered, and he would’ve moved away but Jisung held his face firmly.

“I… I’d love my first time to be with you,” Jisung let out decisively, surprising Minho.

“W-what?” Minho blurted.

“Oh my god… I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Ok… Let me try again? I want you, but… maybe not now?” Jisung said.

“That’s not much better!” Minho exclaimed.

Jisung out his hands on Minho’s mouth then.

“Chut! Your mother will hear us!” Jisung reprimanded him.

But Minho was still not over what Jisung had just said.

“Ok, ok, let’s just say that… That I’m still affected by what happened. And even if I want things to get there someday with you, I want to get over this trauma first.”

Minho looked at him with wide eyes and simply nodded in agreement. Jisung then removed his hands from Minho’s mouth.

“I’ll wait until you’re ready,” Minho agreed, “But… Is kissing ok?”

Jisung’s eyes wandered away from Minho’s gaze in embarrassment as he nodded. Minho then leaned down for another soft kiss before finally standing back up. “Wanna watch a movie while eating dessert?” Minho asked, handing Jisung his pyjama shirt that had previously been dropped on the grown.

“Totally!” Jisung answered. “Can we watch Frozen 2?”

“Yup, good choice,” Minho agreed.

Minho put the film on his computer screen and placed it so they would both be able to enjoy it while cuddling on Minho’s bed. They shared the cake, and messed around a bit, painting each other’s face with some of the cake, and laughing their hearts out, forgetting the movie.

They washed the mess they had made on their faces and brushed their teeth together, still teasing each other. And when they went back to bed, exhausted and contented with their evening, they both quickly fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Jisung wished this evening never ended.

-

“Chan! It’s been a while!” Jeabom greeted him over the phone.

“Hey, JB. How are you doing?”

“Same old, same old. You’re not calling me just to chit-chat, are you?”

“Yeah… You remember that favor you owed me?” Chan asked.

“Of course! You always help us whenever we ask!” Jaebom replied. “What do you need?”

Jeabom and his friends weren’t people you wanted to have problems with. They were in charge of a club downtown where things weren’t always super clean. Chan doubted any of them was clean either, but they had been friends for a long time and they had always respected Chan’s choice not to get involved into their shady business. Every time one of their employees or their DJ couldn’t make it to work for some reason, they asked Chan to help them out, and even if they paid him well for every shift he took, they still said that they owed him.

Usually, he wouldn’t request them the favors they promised, because he didn’t need the type of services they could offer him… until now.

“There’s one of my friends that’s having trouble with a university teacher,” Chan started.

“Aren’t you all still in high school?” Jeabom asked, curious.

“Yeah, but Jisung is taking private lessons.”

“Jisung? That small energetic boy with cute chubby cheeks? Didn’t know he was the studious type… Anyway, what did that teacher do to him to get on our peace-loving Chan’s bad side?”

“He hit him. A lot, I think… There were bruises all over him and… and even on his neck… I need you to make him never approach Jisung ever again,” Chan stated, trying hard to contain the anger he felt.

“Oh… Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it,” Jaebom stated, taking the matter seriously now. “He won’t ever touch him again. Give me the info you know about him.”

“I don’t have much information to be honest…” Chan admitted.

“Don’t worry about that, just tell me what you know.”

And Chan did so, knowing that Jaebom and the others would certainly find out who that person was and deal with him in no time. He hated that he couldn’t do it in a more legal way, but he needed it fixed quickly and, at least, he knew they wouldn’t kill him. They would at most beat him up really bad and take him out of the picture, and in Chan’s book, that’s what he deserved for hurting Jisung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not Stray Kids related, but gosh I love A.C.E soooooooo much!! Like they just became 3rd in my top Kpop groups! My top 5 right now is this : 
> 
> 1\. Stray Kids  
> 2\. Ateez  
> 3\. A.C.E  
> 4\. The Boyz/Pentagon (Yes, they are both 4th. I just can't chose whose first between them xD)  
> 5\. The Rose
> 
> What's yours? :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT <3
> 
> Stay safe! ^.^


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